


The Kind You Stop

by ZombiePunkRat



Series: The Kind You Save [2]
Category: Avengers, Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Winter Soldier (Comics), Winter Soldier - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-05-20 00:31:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 34,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5986288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombiePunkRat/pseuds/ZombiePunkRat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You have powers, you are an Avenger, and you have Bucky. But when you become unstable will your powers be more than you can handle, more than anyone can?</p><p>(This is a part 2 of my first story "The Kind You Save")</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heat Sensitive

Happy New Years everyone! Welcome to Part 2 of my "The Kind You Save" story. Since so many people enjoyed the last one (and I enjoyed writing it so much) I decided to continue it.   
(If you haven't read the first installment, go check it out. Or don't, do what you want.)

Here's to 2016!  
\--- 

“Do we really have to?” You whined.

 

“Listen, I have much better things to do than this too. But we need the public’s favor, and Stark says this is the best way to get it.” Natasha said, tossing you a dress from her closet.

 

        Reluctantly you took the dress and changed into it, folding your clothes in your arms as you walked out of the bathroom. By the time you were out Natasha was already in a fitted red dress, applying her dark lipstick.

 

“Isn’t this a little too breezy? I feel too exposed.” You complained, looking down at your new dress.

 

“Breezier than those pants and jacket you always wear. You look fine. Now hurry up, we’re already late.” She responded, turning back to face the mirror.    

 

        It was true, you had become used to your simple pants, shirt and jacket routine. It hasn’t failed you yet. Instead, you wore a simple black dress with the back exposed and the front reaching up to your neck. Although you thought this was all a little too done up for your taste, you could appreciate the simplicity of the design. You didn’t wear a lot of makeup, just the necessities along with small pieces of jewelry to top it off. When the two of you were ready to go Natasha grabbed her small black purse, which normally contained a small handgun, and you both walked out the door.

 

“Took you ladies long enough.” Tony said once you both met up with him in the middle of the gala.

 

        The event was being held in a large elegant building, with soft gold lighting and smooth music being played by a small orchestra. Tons of people were gathered on the main floor with a few couples spotted on the exposed second floor. This was your first gala and you felt like a deer in headlights, rubbing your hands together in an attempt to evaporate the sweat.

 

“Sorry, some of us don't really want to be here.” Natasha said blatantly as she took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray.

 

“Well, we’re glad you came. After the S.H.I.E.L.D and Ultron incidents we lost a lot of people that believed in us. This, we’re hoping, will regain some hope for the team.” Steve said, explaining the situation to both you and Natasha.

 

“And people love parties, especially ones involving alcohol.” Tony said glancing through the crowd.

 

“Y/n, you should get your little pet away from bird brains over there. Terminator looks like he needs some help.” Tony said, gesturing to Clint and Bucky a few feet away, deeper in the crowd.

 

        You shot a glare at Tony’s statement as he raised his eyebrows, taking a sip from his glass. You then made your way through the crowd, eyes set on getting on the other side. As more bodies brushed up against you, you felt your skin heat up and you breath shallow. You definitely weren’t used to this kind of situation, and you wanted out as soon as possible.

 

“See, you just touch the screen and -oh, with your other hand, it’s heat sensitive.” Clint said, trying to show Bucky the wonders of today’s technology.

 

        They both wore what looked like their finest clothing, with Clint in a grey suit and Bucky in a simple black one. It has been a few months since you had joined the Avengers and you could honestly say you have never been happier. Bucky and you had become an unstoppable force because of how well you worked together, and the team knew that. Although you worked well on a team, on your own you had a little more trouble. Your powers of matter manipulation was sometimes more than you or the team could handle, and it's just a matter of time before it caused a serious problem.

 

“But what if you had cold fingers?” Bucky said, carefully touching the phone’s screen with his flesh hand.

 

“Wow, you’re really are just like Cap. Oh hey, Y/n.” Clint said, turning his head towards you.

 

        Immediately Bucky handed Clint’s phone back to it’s owner and turned to face you. His smile always seemed to melt away any of your doubt and anxiety like snow in July, and his eyes never disappointed.

 

“Do you mind if I steal him away for a little bit?” You asked, gesturing to Bucky.

 

“Be my guest.” Clint said, smirking.

 

“You look...beautiful.” Bucky said turning to face you, looking at your new attire.

 

“You don't look too bad yourself.” You said, smiling back at him.

 

        You took Bucky’s colder hand and led him to the furthest wall, away from the crowd, somewhere you could have some peace. Leaning against the furthest wall you took a deep breath as you watched the guests chat and dance. You guessed that Bucky noticed your discomfort because he looked at you, a glimpse of concern in his eyes.

 

“Y/n? Is everything alright?”

 

“Yeah, yeah...I'm just not used to something this fancy I guess.” You lied to yourself.

 

“You and me both. Steve said I used to love parties, especially when there were girls...” Bucky said, looking over the crowd.

 

        You glared at him for a moment, a spark of jealousy in your face. He looked down at you and smiled, trying to hold back laughter.

 

“But now I can stop looking, because I have my best gal right here.” He said, letting his carefree attitude show.

 

        You couldn’t help but smile, whenever he would relax you were able to see Bucky, see a man without a care in the world. He turned to face you holding his hand out, his smile brightening his face.

 

“May I have this dance?” He asked, his smile beckoning an answer.  

 

        At first you shook your head in embarrassment, but as he persisted you eventually gave in. You placed your hand in his flesh one, allowing him to lead you into the crowd of dancing couples. You felt your heartbeat race once you were in the center of the dance floor, watching everyone move around you.

 

“Hey, we're here to have fun. Just relax, I've got you.” Bucky said, taking your hand and holding your back.

 

        You winced at the cold hand on your back and instantly felt him yank it away, a panicked look in his eyes. You smiled, grabbing his arm, placing his cold hand on your back again. He held you like you were a porcelain doll, like if he gripped your hand too tight he might break it. You wrapped your free arm around his back and held him close, showing him you weren't afraid. The two of you slowly swayed to the beat of the music holding each other, ignoring the world around you. This was the kind of moment where you both felt like the only people in the room, the only people that were where they belonged, in each other's arms.


	2. Freak

        Applause filled the room as the orchestra finished their set, the two of you joining in the subtle clapping as you broke apart. You glanced through the crowd to see Natasha and Tony looking at you two like a pair of proud parents. You stuck your tongue out at them, getting a few strange glares from the more sophisticated guests around you, causing you to look away in embarrassment. As the clapping came to a halt, Bucky was dragged away and you started to walk over to Tony and Natasha as they chatted with a few guests, . But before you could make it through the crowd you were stopped by two unfamiliar faces.

 

“H...Hey, t-test tube girl, right?. W-what are you doing here?” Said one of the clearly drunk men.

 

“Test tu- Can I help you gentlemen?” You asked, trying not to let his comment get to you.

 

“Yeah, I...I heard th-that you took down a whole building after the baddies gave you s-some superpowers. And that you killed a whole lot of ‘em when you escaped!”

 

“And I heard you tore up a whole block!” The other said, leaning against his buddy.

 

“I'm sorry, I must be going.” You said, trying to get past the two drunk men.

 

“Hey, h-hold on!” One said, grabbing your arm.

 

        As soon as his hand touched your arm his face changed. His eyes went milky for a second and his veins became more prominent on his neck and jaw,  pulsing out a deep purple color. You quickly moved your arm away and stepped back before the man fell to the ground, breathing hard before vomiting on the ground. You heard gasps around you as you backed up, inspecting your arm in panic. What have you done?

 

“Y-you...freak!” The drunk man screamed at you as his friend lifted him off the ground.

 

        When the drunks stood upright again, two more men dressed in black stood at their sides, grabbing each by the arm.

 

“Could you please escort these gentlemen out?” Tony said, walking between you and the drunks.

 

        Reluctantly, the two men were escorted away, glaring back at you. Your heartbeat was going a mile a minute, everyone was staring at you and Tony.

 

“Sorry ladies and gentlemen! Someone had a little too much to drink!” Tony said to his guests.

 

        The crowd laughed and returned to their affairs, drifting their eyes away from you. You were so in shock that you didn't even notice that Tony had been trying to get your attention.

 

“Hey, Y/n! Yoo-hoo anyone home?” Tony said, snapping his fingers in front of your face.

 

“I-I'm sorry Tony, I shouldn't have come. I just-”

 

“Hey, slow down. What did those assholes say?” Tony asked.

 

“Welcome everyone to Tony Stark’s annual Gala! With this year's guests, the heroes that saved the world! The Avengers!” A man on stage announced over the speakers, interrupting your answer.

 

“I guess that's us.” Tony said, walking towards the stage.

 

        You quickly followed in suit, not looking up until you noticed Bucky staring at you from the stage with a concerned look. When you made it up on stage you weren't able to make it over to Bucky, instead you stood next to Thor on the end. Applause filled the room as the team lined up on stage and the speaker took the stand.

 

“This team fought off an alien army, defeated a deadly robotic force and exposed Hydra. Some call them unorthodox, rouges or even freaks…” The speaker announced.

 

        As he spoke all you could hear was white noise, along with your heartbeat banging against your eardrums. Your skin felt like it was burning and you began to drip with sweat. Your breaths began to shorten and it became harder and harder to breathe, you felt like you were having a heart attack. Before you knew it you looked down at your hands to find them glowing and your veins pulsating out of your arms. As soon as you looked up there was a bright flash and everything went black.


	3. The Witch

    I had no idea what had happened at first, all I knew was that there was something seriously wrong with Y/n. I was dragged away by a few esteemed guests before being called onto the stage. Then I noticed y/n making her way towards the stage, but she didn’t look so good, her face was pale and her eyes looked tired. I tried to make my way over to her, but instead was instructed not to move. Instead I leaned back a bit so that I could get a better eye on her, she was shaking with drips of sweat on her forehead. I was about to walk over when a bright flash filled the room and there was a large explosion, throwing everyone across the room, and slamming to the floor.

 

“Ugh...What the h-hell?” Tony grunted, trying to get up while holding his ribcage.

 

    Immediately, people tried to get up, but most of the guests were knocked unconscious, at least I hoped as much. I tried to catch my breath and once I did my eyes darted around the destroyed ballroom. Where was she?

 

“Nat? Natasha, wake up.” I heard Clint say a few feet away from where I was laying.

 

    To my right I saw Thor help Steve off of the ground, looking around at the damage done. I continued to look through the crowd of disheveled guests to try to find y/n, but I didn’t see anything. That made me worry even more. As I took a few deep breaths I heard heavy footsteps make their way towards me.

 

“You alright Buck?” Steve asked, holding his hand out to me.

 

“Fine, I don’t know what happened. I just need to find- Y/n!” I yelled, running over to the stage.

 

    Y/n was laying on the ground, right where she had been standing before the explosion. I felt my heartbeat relax as I lifted my fingers to her neck and found a subtle heartbeat, she was still alive. But she was too close to the explosion, she should’ve been killed. I inspected her more and found something...not right. Her hands and neck had distinct purple veins pulsing out of them, and her face showed that she was in a lot of pain.

 

“What is wrong with the witch? Is she…” Thor asked as he and Steve ran over.

 

“No, she’s just unconscious. But I don’t know...she needs a doctor…” I said, trying not to panic.

 

“Alright, what the hell just happened?” Clint asked as he walked over, propping Natasha up on his shoulder.

 

    We all stood in silence, we were clueless. All we knew was that we needed to get these people affected some medical attention. It only took a few minutes before both the police and about 20 ambulances to arrive outside the gala, taking people out on gurneys. The paramedics informed us that no one was killed but a few were seriously injured, which made our relief a little less quick. Turning back to y/n I placed my arms under her back and legs, carrying her to a gurney where the EMTs strapped her in.

 

“We’ll take it from here.” Said a paramedic.

 

“Let me ride with her.” I said, a serious look on my face.

 

She looked at me for a second, before deciding that it wasn’t a good idea to say no to me. They rushed her outside and into an ambulance, where I crawled into the back of the ambulance. I watched as they stuck needles into her veins and watched her vitals on a small screen, until a loud beeping noise filled the space.

 

“Her vitals are spiking, we need sedatives, quick!” The EMT yelled, grabbing some vials from the other paramedic.

 

    She injected a sedative into y/n’s veins but saw that it was not enough, and proceeded to inject two more. Once there were five vials of sedatives in y/n’s bloodstream she began to calm. I watched her face, sweat dripped from her forehead and her eyebrows her knit, she still looked like she was injured. I held her cold hand in my own flesh one, drawing circles into her palm with my thumb, trying to relax her.

 

“She’s stable now.” Said one of the paramedics.

 

“...So....I’m guessing she’s one of you guys then.” The other paramedic asked, looking at me.

 

    I nodded before looking back to y/n. Although she was completely unconscious I still felt like I could hear her screaming, and with each yell my heart ached. I wanted to protect her, to take her place, but when it came to situations like this, there was nothing I could do. She was the one that understood the mind, that could manipulate the spirit, and I was the physical, living in a world of muscle and brawn. But when it really came down to it, she was the most powerful, she was the one that could take down a building with a wave of her hand.

 

“She’s spiking again, we need to get her inside...quick!” The EMT said, unloading y/n out of the back of the ambulance.

 

    I followed quickly behind as doctors surrounded the gurney as we entered the hospital. I only made it through a few rooms before I was stopped.

 

“You need to wait here.” A nurse said.

 

I tried to push past him but he was persistent.

 

“The doctors can’t do their job it you go back there. Wait in the lobby sir.” He said, a serious look on his face.

 

I eventually gave up and reluctantly walked back to the lobby, sitting in a chair that was a little too small for me. I couldn’t sit still, it felt like a wave of anxiety washed over me and I was drowning. My knee bounced up and down as I sat uncomfortably in the chair, looking at the ground, all I could do at this point was worry.

 

“There you are tin man.” I heard a familiar voice say.

 

“Where’s y/n?” asked Steve as he, Tony and Thor walked over to me.

 

“The good doctors are taking care of her now.” I said, trying to mask my worry.  

 

    We stood in the waiting room, with an older lady looking up at us from the back of the room. Other than a few bruises and scratches, we didn’t look too bad, but I couldn’t say the same for the other guests.

 

“Terminator, I need to talk to ya.” Tony said, hitting my arm as he walked out into the hallway.

 

    I followed him as he looked around making sure there was no one listening in. I crossed my arms as he looked up at me, a small cut just under his eye.

 

“I think I know what happened.” He said, his face not containing it’s usual cockiness.

 

“Well, spit it out.” I said, impatiently.

 

“Y/n...she went critical.”


	4. Relatives

“Hey, hey big guy! I’m not saying she did it on purpose!” Tony said as I held him against the wall by his collar.

 

“Well it is sure as hell starting to sound like it!” I yelled in anger.

 

“Put him down, Bucky.” Steve said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

 

    Reluctantly, I let go of Tony’s collar and glared at him. Steve tried to calm me down and asked for me to listen to what Tony had to say.

 

“She hasn’t learned to completely control her powers yet, and this was just the tip of the iceberg. Because her powers allow her to manipulate matter, if she loses control, the particles are let loose and collide. And when this happens...Boom.” Tony explained, making a explosion gesture with his hands.

 

“What are we to do?” Thor asked, crossing his arms.

 

    Tony opened his mouth but was interrupted by the television turning to the news. The image of the building Stark’s gala was being held in popped on the screen.

 

“Tony Stark’s annual gala brought to a halt after explosion. Some are proposing the possibility of a terrorist bombing, others are suspicious of the Avengers presence…” The anchorman announced.

 

“Well...Isn’t this just fantastic.” Tony said sarcastically before a doctor walked over to us.

 

“Are any of you her relatives?” The doctor asked, holding his clipboard against his chest.

 

We all shook our heads. Truth was, she didn’t have any relatives, at least that’s what I’ve gathered after getting to know her more intimately. We didn’t know much about y/n’s past to be honest, she always kept those things to herself. But family did seem like a sensitive topic for her.

 

“Well, she’s alive, but she’s still unconscious; and we don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

 

    My lungs allowed me to take a deep breath once I heard the good news. The doctor allowed us to follow him back to where she rested, although there wasn’t much room for three big Avengers and Tony. I was the first to make my way over, she looked as if she were just asleep, no emotion on her face and little breathing. I reached down and held her small hand in my own flesh one, it felt cold but the vibrant purple hue had calmed down.

 

“You’re welcome to sit with her until she wakes up.” The doctor said, walking out of the room.

 

    We all stood in silence for a few moments, taking in what happened at the party as well as the aftermath. We had three injured Avengers and one in a coma, just fantastic.

 

     Steve and I stayed with y/n while Thor and Tony decided to go check on Clint and Natasha on the floor below us. I had been sitting in the small chair next to y/n reading a magazine for a few hours when I heard y/n start to move. At first all I could hear was mumbling and grunts but then y/n’s eyes shot open and she gasped for breath.

 

“Y/n, y/n! You’re ok, everything’s fine now.” I said, holding her shoulders as her eyes shot around the room.

 

    It took a few moments before she got her bearings back again, but when she did her face completely changed. She went from being completely terrified to relief that caused tears to form in her eyes.

 

“B-Bucky...y-you’re...alive?”


	5. The Sickness

(Sorry about the late updating, it was finals week and I had a lot of shit to do. I was sort of stuck story wise too, but I got a friend to help me. Also, I don't know why everything's bold in this chapter :/)

You were on the verge of tears when you finally woke up with Bucky standing next to you. He looked at you with a confused glance when you asked him you're strange question. He had no idea what you had just seen. 

 

“Yes, yes. Of course I’m alive. Y/n, what happened?” He asked, wiping a tear off your cheek.

 

You wanted to tell him everything but you had no time, they were coming.

 

“They’re coming, we need to get out of here!” You said, starting to pull needles out of your arms.

 

“Hold on a minute? Who’s coming?” Steve asked, standing firm.

 

Before you could answer screaming came from down the hallway as heavy footprints made there way down to your room. Before Bucky and Steve got into positions you forced all the furniture in the room to be thrown at the door, blocking anyone from getting in. As the men reached your door they began attempting to kick it down but with no luck.

 

“Hydra, they tracked me here. We need to get out.” You said, looking at Steve and Bucky with intense eyes.

 

“How did they track you? And I thought Hydra was done for? What is going on?” asked a seriously confused Steve.

 

Before you could explain, the Hydra operatives began to make their way to the door, as well as attempting to shoot through it. All three of you got close to the ground, trying to avoid any bullets flying through the room, hitting the wall behind you. You had to find a way out of here, without getting shot that is.

 

“Alright, we need to catch them by surprise. Bucky you hide next to the door, when it's open don’t give them a chance to blink. Y/n you need to be the distraction, first clear the doorway and stop any bullets. And I’ll help you, Bucky, remember, don’t let them blink.” Steve said, letting Captain come through.

 

Both you and Bucky took your positions and waited for Captain to count to three with his fingers. On three you threw the pile of furniture out of the way and allowed the agents in. Immediately they began to shoot, but before they could reach you, your pile of furniture blocked the bullets from hitting you. Before the agents noticed Captain and Bucky next to them they were already unconscious on the ground with bloody faces. Quickly running into the hall you were met by more operatives running towards you, causing you all to run the other way.

 

“Down here!” You yelled, running down another hallway.

 

Both men followed you dodging nurses and patients wandering about, before they started screaming and running into their rooms. You finally looked back and didn’t see anymore men in black chasing you, allowing you to take a deep breath. Steve and Bucky weren’t quite as out of breath as you, which caused you to be very annoyed.

 

“It’s only a matter of time before they make it over here.” Bucky said, beginning to walk down the hallway again.

 

“Wait I-”

 

You grabbed Bucky’s arm and immediately regretted it. His face went pale and his eyes glazed over as purple veins began to protrude from his arm where you held it and neck up to his face. You gasped and quickly let go, allowing Bucky to fall to the ground, gasping for breath. You looked at him with a horrified look as Steve ran to his side.

 

“What did you do!?” Steve yelled, helping Bucky off the ground.

 

“I-I don’t know. I’m s-so sorry Buck-” You were interrupted by men dressed in black rounding the corner.

 

“Run!” You yelled, as you stood in front of them.

 

You had to think quick, there were patients above and below you so you couldn’t collapse the ceiling or tear up the floor. The men began to take aim and you threw your arms in front of you, causing the walls to meet in the middle, crushing the men in between. Quickly you turned around and followed Steve and the still weak Bucky out of the hospital and into the parking lot. Once you made it out Steve laid Bucky on the ground, his face still pale and purple veins still visible. He looked like he was in so much pain, and you felt like you were breaking inside. When you tried to get closer to him his body began to seize, and his eyes became even more milky. You did this to him, this was your fault.

 

And you couldn’t let it happen again.


	6. Plague

        I had no idea how Hydra found us, but y/n said that they tracked her here. I don’t know how, but they must have known to try and attack us at our weakest. But how were they able to track her? Dozens of questions raced through my mind, but I knew one thing for sure, we had to get out of there.

 

“What did you do?!” I yelled at y/n as I ran to Bucky’s side.

 

        I glanced up at her, a terrified look on her face as she stared at her hands and noticed the same purple veins that were now on Bucky’s arm and face. When the Hydra agents made their way down the hallway I quickly threw Bucky’s arm around my shoulder and ran dragged him out the door. Once we were outside, I set him down on the concrete watching as his breathing hitched. He looked like hell, and y/n knew that. She looked at him with panic and regret, almost on the verge of tears, just as she had when she woke up. She tried to walk closer to Bucky, but as soon as she took a step forward Bucky began seizing on the ground. I held Bucky’s limbs down, trying to calm him and called y/n to help, but when I looked up she was nowhere to be seen.

 

“What are you guys still doing here? We need to go. Now.” Clint said as he raced out of the building.

 

Thor, Natasha, and Tony followed in suit as I threw Bucky over my shoulder and ran away from the hospital.

 

        After “borrowing” someone’s van we were able to make it back to the tower relatively quickly, watching out for anyone that might be following us. Once we made it to Stark’s I dragged Bucky upstairs to the emergency room/lab where Tony hooked him up to a few machines and laid him on a table.

 

“Alright. What the hell happened to Tin Man.” Tony said, studying the screen that read Bucky’s condition.

 

“I don’t know. Y/n just grabbed his arm and...this happened.” I said in defeat, trying to catch my breath.

 

Tony let out a small “hm” and tapped the screen, before a “beeping” noise filled the room.

 

“Jarvis? What the hell is going on?” Tony asked, lifting his hands off the screens.

 

“It appears that his body is overheating, trying to reject something.” Jarvis said over the speakers.

 

“Right. Let’s fix that then.” Tony said, racing to the other side of the room.

 

        He ran back over with three syringes in his hand, tearing the covers off of them with his teeth, before stabbing them into Bucky’s body. I flinched when the needles pierced his chest, but immediately Buck began to calm and the beeping ceased. We all took a deep breath as the purple hue disappeared and color returned back to Bucky’s face.

 

“He should be good when he wakes up.” Tony said, throwing the syringed on the table next to him, and rubbing his hands over his face.

 

        The next few hours waiting for Bucky to wake up were agony. We all didn’t know what to say, everything happened so fast, and we finally had peace again. Well, as close to peace as we’ve been lately. Tony at one point turned to the news and the story was on every channel. Titles like “Avenger attack at Stark Annual Gala” or “Terrorist Avenger?” plastered the screen. One channel was interviewing guests from the party, and one familiar face appeared.

 

“That’s that drunk asshole that threw up on my floor,” Tony said, pointing at the screen with his glass in hand.

 

“Yeah, that crazy super chick just grabs my arm and I just...seize up and I can’t control anything. When she lets go I’m throwing up everywhere, I’m just lucky I made it out before the explosion,” the now sober man told the interviewer.

 

“The Avenger that the public is starting to call “Plague” is yet to be detained for questioning-”

 

We all jumped when a glass exploded on the screen, and we all turned around to find Bucky panting angrily. 

 

“Hey! Careful!” Tony yelled at the Winter Soldier.

 

“He grabbed her! That asshole is making it sound like y/n did it on purpose! S-She wouldn’t do anything to hurt innocent people. I know-” Bucky said, trying to control his anger.

 

        I walked over to him and reached for his shoulder, before he quickly swatted it away. He was too blinded by anger to think clearly, which wasn’t good for his condition.

 

“Bucky, you need to rest. We’ll talk to the press and get everything figured out, don’t worry,” I said, trying to calm him down.

 

“I don’t need rest….Where’s y/n?” he asked, scanning the room.

 

We had to tell him.

 

“Buck, do you remember what happened?” I asked, looking at his expression with concern.

 

“No, did I hurt anyone?” he asked, worried that he had unintentionally gone into Winter Soldier mode again.

 

“I wasn’t you this time big guy.” Natasha said offhandedly from the couch.

 

        I watched his face change when he realized what she meant. His eyes went from full of anger to glazed with concern.

 

“What happened? Is she alright?”

 

“Sh...She grabbed you, like the guy at the gala. And you...I don’t know what happened…” I said in defeat.

 

“Yes, but what about y/n?” he demanded.

 

“She was gone when I looked up. She just ran off…” I said, with guilt in his eyes.

 

“Why didn’t you stop her?!” Bucky yelled, no longer trying to control his anger.

 

“We had to get out of there, before Hydra caught up with us.” Natasha said, standing up to the sudden intensity in the room.

 

“What if they got her? What if they…” Bucky said as I put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Buck, you and I both know y/n. She can take care of herself.” I said, looking Bucky in the eye.

 

        He was right, Bucky, as well as the rest of the team knew that you could handle yourself; but that didn’t stop him from worrying. From what Tony’s told him, you’re alone, unstable, and scared, just like he was before you saved him. He can’t just leave you out there where people think you’re a monster. Even if you too, believe you are one.


	7. Don't Touch Me

You didn’t stop, you just kept running, not looking behind for a second. You knew that if Steve saw you leave, he would be able to catch up in no time; so you had to make sure he didn’t know where you were going. The only problem was that you, yourself, had no idea where to go,  you just knew you had to get away as soon as possible. But as far as you wanted to run, your body eventually gave in, and you felt yourself fall to your knees, clasping your chest with your shaky hand. You couldn’t breathe, your heart was racing and your breath started to shorten. You looked down at your hands, finding the familiar discoloration starting on your fingertips.

 

“Ma’am? Are you alright?” You heard an unfamiliar voice ask.

 

You looked over to find a man reaching out to you, a concerned look in his eyes. Before he got too close you threw yourself in the other direction, making sure he didn't have a chance to touch you.

 

“Don’t touch me! Don’t-” You yelled, quickly getting up and stumbling in the opposite direction.

 

You had to find somewhere clear, somewhere without civilians; somewhere you couldn’t hurt anyone. You felt your feet begin to grow raw and your legs ache as you ran on the concrete, noticing the street lights start to flicker on.  The sky was starting to darken and you could feel yourself losing grasp on your energy and control. You spotted trees and brush, which must have meant Central Park, about a block away. You sprinted inside, staying near the thickest bush where no normal civilian would be. You couldn’t allow yourself  to go critical again, you had to control it…The ringing in your ears kept getting louder and louder the more you tried to internalize yourself. Maybe if you focused hard enough, you could keep it inside, maybe you could stop hurting people. Tears began to form in your eyes as you felt your body grow weak, your knees giving out as you fell to the ground. The bristle grass caressed you as your body shook and shivered, pain shooting through your head and limbs. You were so scared, you didn’t know what to do.

 

“Shh, it’s alright...You’ll be alright…” You heard a soft and subtle tone say.

 

You wanted to quickly turn around to yell at the mysterious figure to run away, but your body stayed stiff. You worried that any little movement would set you off, hurting the new spectre. As you laid on the ground shaking, holding your body close, a slim hand rested on your shoulder. There was someone there trying to comfort you, someone with a soft, foreign voice, but to who they were remained unknown. As you tried to control your breathing and shaking, the hand made it’s way to your head and brushed your hair out of your face.

 

“So alone…so scared…But you are not alone,” the voice whispered in your ear.

 

You tried to force the power inside, so not to hurt the man, but it was starting to take it’s toll. You felt yourself slipping away as the hands held you still, attempting to calm you down.

 

“No, no...Don’t internalize it, control it. If you force it inwards, you’ll kill yourself.”

 

Panic immediately spread through your chest when you heard this fact. Would it really kill you? Did you really have this much power?

 

“Control your breathing, trust yourself. The only reason you can’t control it is because you don’t believe you can.” The voice said, in a calming tone.

 

Deciding to trust his words you focused on your breathing, in and out, taking your thought away from the situation for a moment. After you got control of your breathing once again, your eyes allowed themselves to open. The ringing in your ears ceased and you felt yourself relax again, your hands losing their purple shade. Looking around at first all you saw was a dark forest lit only by moonlight and the city; that was until you noticed the figure standing a few feet away in the shadows. You got up slowly, trying not to do anything too quickly in fear your tranquility would end.

 

“Ah, see. I knew you could do it.”


	8. Can I Call You James?

“When are they gonna leave? It’s been three days…” Clint asked as he glanced out the window.

 

The press had been visiting Stark tower everyday since the accident, and it was really starting to get under Bucky’s skin. Tony didn’t seem to notice the group of reporters and protesters yelling outside until Jarvis brought it to his attention.

 

“Sir, the public are still outside, and there seems to be little signs of them giving in,” the disembodied english accent announced.

 

Steve had asked Tony to get Bucky to help him in his workshop in order to get his mind off of the situation, at least until they were sure he was feeling better. But all Bucky knew was that he was being stopped from looking for you.

 

“Oh, right. We’ll probably have to deal with that at one point. Jarvis, organize a press conference for this afternoon,” Tony said, from under one of his older cars.

 

“Yes sir, right away,” Jarvis quickly responded.

 

Tony grunted and quickly held his hand out from under the car towards Bucky. He grew impatient and eventually hit Bucky’s leg, getting him to hand over a wrench, before rolling out from under the vehicle.

 

“Alright, big man, spill it,” Tony said, wiping oil off his hands with a rag.  

 

“It’s just...We should be out there looking for y/n, not sitting around making arrangements to talk to the press,” Bucky said, crossing his arms as he sat on the table.

 

“Well, the public is a big part of how we operate now. And y/n, well...She’ll come back when she’s ready-”

 

“What if she’s never ready! What if she’s caught, what if she can’t…” Bucky said before trailing off.

 

There was silence for a minute while Tony thought the situation over. It was clear that the Winter Soldier was not letting in, and that he was not going to relax until something was done.

 

“James, can I call you James?” Tony asked, not really caring for an answer.

 

“No.”

 

“Well, James, you know y/n better than anyone here. You know what she is capable of doing, you saw it at the gala. I know we need to find her, but for now, perhaps it’s best for her to be on her own,” Tony responded.

 

“You mean leave her exposed? Hydra was somehow able to track her, if they get their hands on her again-”

 

Tony immediately noticed Bucky’s metallic fist grip the edge of the table a little too tightly. He let go the metal and it had kept the form of his tight grip, and when Bucky noticed, Tony saw his face grow regretful.

 

“It might be better if Hydra agents tried to get close to her. It would get rid of a few of them for us.”

 

Bucky’s face seemed to change when he noticed that Tony was right, a small smirk formed on the edge of his lips. He almost looked proud of what he knew you could do. As much as he worried and wanted to protect you, he knew that you could handle yourself. But he also knew that your stubbornness and lack of trust didn’t allow yourself to ask for help, and that was what worried him the most.

 

“Alright, I’ll buck over. We go to this press meeting, you stand there and look pretty, and you can go and look for y/n. Deal?” Tony said, holding out his cleaner hand to the Winter Soldier.

 

Without as much as a second thought Bucky shook his hand, getting off the metallic table he had been sitting on.

 

“Alright, let’s get something a little more presentable on,” Tony said as Bucky followed him out of the workshop.


	9. Beans

The sky seemed extra dreary today as you walked down the sidewalk, pulling your hood over to block unwanted glances. The air was thick and moist and the streets were glazed with a thin layer of rain, making the world seem dull and grey. You haven’t used your powers in a few days, not since the day you last saw Loki, but it was starting to get the better of you. Finding food and clothing was a difficult enough task in itself, not to mention that you had to stay away from people as much as possible. Walking with your head down, you casually stepped over a short railing on the side of the road and stumbled down a steep hill. The thick green bush was dripping wet from the light rainfall, falling to the ground as you walked past. This had become your home for the past few days, a place no one entered, a place you could have peace.

 

“It’d be more ladylike to eat with a utensil, I would assume,” a voice said, cutting through the silence.

 

You jumped quickly from where you had been sitting, spilling a can of cooked beans on the forest floor. When you realized who it was, your stature didn’t exactly become more relaxed.

 

“Don’t...do that! I coul-”

 

“Ah, but you didn’t! See, you weren’t thinking about your abilities, you weren’t given a chance to react,” Loki said, not letting you finish your sentence.

 

“Is that a good or bad thing?” You asked, cleaning up your can.

 

“Both. It means you aren’t completely unstable, you’re just underdeveloped. And that’s why I’m here,” he said, standing up straight, gesturing to himself.

 

“I still don’t know what you want with me.”

 

“You forget, I created you. Without me, you wouldn’t be where you are today, you would’ve been killed,” he said, pacing around you as you stood.

 

You didn’t respond, instead you thought back to your time as Hydra’s plaything. Trying to not let your face express your thoughts, you felt your stomach drop as you remembered. All those tests, the torture, and he saw all of it, doing nothing. You glared up at him and his sharp eyes immediately met with yours, almost as if he saw your thought process.

 

“And these...powers, as you call them, are not a curse; they’re a blessing. And now it is time for me to show you how.”

 

In a single second you saw his figure glow as he duplicated himself, twelve times over. You franticly looked around as the figures surrounded you, all with the same devilish smirk.

 

“Now, focus. And come find me,” you heard his disembodied voice say.

 

Looking around you tried to get a feel for the environment, but they all looked exactly the same. You then walked over to where his original figure had stood before duplicating, with hope that it would be that easy. As you reached your hand out to touch him, it just went straight through his figure, showing that he was an illusion. As you lifted your hand out from the image, something hard hit the back of your knees, sending you to the ground.

 

“You have to keep an eye on your surroundings. When you’re in your mental state, you become an extremely easy target. Now, again,” he said, swinging around a long staff he held in his hands.

 

Getting up, you tried again and again, but each time you were sent to the ground once again. Until your frustration took over, and you focused on the ground. With one quick gesture you spun around, lifting a circle of ground up from underneath each illusion, making them disappear. All except the true figure of Loki, who was sent flying to the ground once he was hit with your attack.

 

“G-good. Now, let’s move on,” he said, getting up from the ground.

 

The next few exercises were similar, where you had to be able to restrict yourself, or let yourself go. As you began to improve you could almost see a kind of pride in the Asgardian’s face, and it almost seemed sincere. As you continued your training you suddenly saw Loki stop and listen, causing you do the same. As you stood in silence you heard a sudden snap on a branch.

 

“That’s never a good sound.”


	10. Dangerous and Disgusting

        Steve and Sam agreed to join Tony and I in handling the press, and we all knew that the public were going to have plenty of questions, so the more backup, the merrier. It only took about ten minutes for the team to get ready, but we had to change when we all noticed how different our ideas of “getting ready” were. Tony, of course, wore a tailored suit while Steve and Sam were dressed like they were going to church, and I decided to put on a simple pair of jeans and a t shirt. About five minutes later we all had either dressed in more casual wear or a little nicer before heading downstairs.

 

“Just let me lead,” Tony said putting on his pair of sunglasses, opening the doors to the front of his tower.

 

        Immediately the roar of questions and accusations washed over us, along with flashing lights and microphones being shoved in our faces. “Oh, this is going to be fun,” I thought to myself as we tried to keep the microphones and notepads from being thrown in our faces. I noticed that we all, except Tony, were not comfortable with this idea at all. I didn’t know what to do; at one point I felt Tony drag me towards the small clearing we would be answering questions from.

 

“Alright, if we answer some of your questions, you have to leave. Got it?” Tony said, glancing over his sunglasses.

 

        There were a few silent nods and plenty reporters stating, “of course” in order for us to get on with the conference.  They were then allowed to ask questions, which caused them to speak all at once, and Tony then chose people at random.

 

“You, pencil skirt. What do you got for us?” Tony said, pointing at a women closer to the back of the crowd.

 

“What was your take on what happened three days ago? Was there a bomb?” She asked.

 

“Yes, we believe there was a bomb. As by who planted it, is still being investigated,” Tony lied to the reporters before they again shouted out their questions.

 

“You, mustache.”

 

“We have reason to believe Plague was behind this attack. Is this true? And where is she now?” Asked the man with the bushy upper lip.

 

        I hated that name they gave her. “Plague”, it made her sound dangerous and disgusting, two words I would never use to describe her. I knew that she was most likely to be brought up during this interview, but the more assumptions I heard, the angrier I felt myself grow.

 

“Her name is y/n actually, and this was not an attack I assure you. And we currently are unaware of her whereabouts,” Tony said, quickly moving on.

 

“So you’re saying she did have something to do with the explosion? And you don’t know where she is?” Yelled a random reporter.

 

“Shit...um, Steve how about you answer a few questions,” Tony said, pulling Steve in front of him.

 

        It took a moment for Steve to gain his composure and get into “Captain mode” as I called it. It seemed that whenever Steve had to present himself as “Captain America” he stood up straight and had a lot more confidence, almost as if he was ready to lead an army.

 

“What made Plague do this? What if this happens again? Do you think that these “superheroes” are doing more harm than good?” A random reporter in the crowd yelled.

 

“Do you think superheroes have become too dangerous. Shouldn’t you guys turn yourselves over to the government?” Shouted a disembodied voice from the crowd.

 

“Y/n had unintentionally combusted, we are searching for her and in the process of finding out why,” Steve answered, making sure to stay straight.

 

        As the press threw more questions at us I found myself having a difficult time keeping myself under control. I was already on the target list after my time as the “Winter Soldier”, I didn’t need anymore marks on my reputation, even if that isn’t who I am anymore.

 

“Bucky, anything you would like to say to the cameras?” Tony asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

 

Reluctantly I walked forward and looked straight into the cameras, taking a deep breath.

 

“Y/n, if you’re watching this, please come back. You may not believe me, but we can help you. Just give us a chance.”


	11. You'll Let It Eat You Alive

“Hydra,” Loki told you, glancing behind him, making sure none of the agents were close. 

You felt yourself freeze in place, your heart pumping a million miles a minute as memories flooded your head. Memories of the experiments, the questioning, the torture...All of these thoughts filled your body with both fear and anger. You could feel yourself heat up as you looked down at your hands, and quickly looked around for your gloves. 

“Here, now I suggest you get out of here,” Loki said as he handed you your pair of black gloves. 

Grabbing them from his grasp you saw him nod before disappearing into thin air. You shoved your hands quickly into the leather gloves before running in the opposite direction, glancing behind your shoulder. Jumping over logs and dodging branches you heard the sound of heavy footsteps growing. You glanced behind yourself one last time before looking back and falling to the ground. Dressed in black stood a Hydra agent in full gear looking down at you through tinted goggles. He started to reach for you when you tore off your glove and threw your hand forward. Immediately a blast of energy flew from your palm and and into the man’s chest, sending him flying in the opposite direction. There was a distant thud as the figure hit a tree and fell to the ground. 

Turning around you were meet by three more agents, all of them keeping their distance from you. Your eyes flared with anger as you threw your hands at the men, causing the ground between them to explode, and sending each in different directions. Turning your focus on one of the agents you glanced at the tree standing behind them and caused the base to decay. Just before the tree fell on top of him, he rolled out of the way and you felt arms wrap around you from behind, restraining your arms. The grip tightened the more you struggled, it was clear they were not letting go. 

“LET ME GO!!!” You screamed as a surge of energy blasted from your body and leveled the forest. 

You looked around to find the agents knocked to the ground, groaning and struggling to get up. Immediately you looked around for your gloves, lifted the fabric from the ground and ran out of the forest. You made it as far as your legs would take you before dodging into an old abandoned building, catching your breath as you pressed yourself against a wall. You took a few deep breaths before you felt the presence of another being in the room. The faint sound of clapping in the silent room grew louder. 

“Well done. Didn’t think you had it in you, did you?” The familiar voice of the shadows said. 

“Are they gone?” 

“After that performance, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about them. After all, you did do a lot of damage…” Loki said, pacing while glancing down at you as you sat against the wall. 

“I don’t care what I did! I just want to stop being hunted, I...I want to be normal again…” you said, adjusting your gloves.   
“Oh, but do you really? Go back to that life of dull melancholy, where you stood still. Now look at you, you’ve become something more, someone that has made a difference. And you would have never met your precious soldier,” he said as he slowly sat next to you, leaning his back against the wall. 

You sat in silence for a moment, pulling your legs up and wrapping your arms around them. What he right? Did you truly want to be normal again? No, of course not, but you did want to stop hurting people...Why couldn’t you have had a robotic suit or just have been a supersoldier? Why couldn’t you have something you could control? Why did you have to be cursed like this? 

“If you think of this as a curse, you’ll let it eat you alive…” 

“I never asked for these powers...Why me? Out of everyone on earth, you chose the one with the least to offer…” 

“Ah but I chose you for this reason exactly. You are whole, not blinded by pride, regret, or ego. You live in the shadows, as do I. We have a lot in common, so I knew you’d be a good candidate,” He said standing and holding his hands out to you. 

You glanced up at him before taking his hands and standing in the dull, dust filled building. As you both stood he placed his hands on your shoulder and immediately the scene changed. 

You stood in a new room, a large table full of men in suits sitting looking up at a large screen. And in front stood a familiar face, a face graced with confidence. 

“Get on with it, Stark,” said one of the men from the large table.


	12. Symbolism

“Registering our powers? Who suggests an idea like that?” Steve said once we entered the building again, a clear look of annoyance on his face. 

“They’re just offering a solution to a problem they don’t understand,” Sam said, standing at Steve’s side. 

“Alright Barnes, are you ready for your little search party?” Tony asked , quickly disregarding the previous short discussion. 

I nodded as we walked into the elevator, heading to the top of the tower, the most secluded part of the building. We exited the small space, heated by the large masses, and walked into the chilly open hallway that was lit by floor to ceiling windows. Tony lead our small group down the hall, the subtle sunlight peeking from the elevation brushing against our faces as we passed. As we reached the end, Tony held his arms out in front of him, pushing two wooden doors open to reveal a brightly lit room. 

“It took Jarvis longer to fix ‘em since our last party, so I suggest we be more careful this time,” Tony said, allowing us into the room that held our suits. 

I glanced around at the rest of the team as they walked over to their costumes, comfortably looking around at the fresh seams and polished metals. Looking to my right I saw what must’ve been mine, a small folded pile of black fabric with thick combat boots at the base. I walked over to the costume and held it in my hands, glancing over at the others. 

Steve had his stars and stripes, to serve as a representation for his country. Sam had his wings and red suit, to be our eyes in the sky. And Tony had his metallic red and gold armor, protecting himself from the fight. And I...I had black, the color that had become my own from my time as a weapon. I wasn’t dressed in color, I wasn’t a symbol of protection or hope, I was the Winter Soldier. Nothing more. Lifting it up I quickly found my face frowning in disapproval, looking at my missing left sleeve. 

“Hey, what happened to my jacket?” I demanded from Tony. 

“What do you mean? Oh, I thought hiding your symbol was unsuperhero-like, you should strut.” He said, barely giving me a glance. 

I felt my ears heat up at I glared at the man dressing in robotic armor. My arm was my symbol now, or was it the red star, my brand from the enemy. He was proud of what he’d become, Tony Stark, the Iron Man, he created that name for himself, he had a choice what he did. But others weren’t as lucky. 

“Too bad, I want my sleeve. Now.” I demanded. 

“Alright, fussy. Jarvis, could you get our toddler’s sleeve fixed?” Tony asked the ceiling. 

“Certainly sir,” the disembodied voice said, followed by a panel opening from the wall. 

Feeling something pull at my jacket I glanced down to find a robotic claw tugging at the black fabric. Jumping in surprise, I quickly let go of the costume as it pulled it into the wall. A few seconds later the same jacket retreated from the wall, being presented to me with a freshly sewn sleeve. I took it, a look of awe still present on my face. The future sure was...interesting. 

“Happy?” Tony asked in annoyance at my noncompliance of his idea of symbolism. 

I said nothing in response, I just gave Tony a glare of annoyance.


	13. Doubt

(Warning: Reference to suicide at the end)

“Don’t worry, they can’t see or hear us,” Loki said, noticing your tension in the new environment. 

“Alright, keep your panties on gentlemen. I’m here to display Stark industries newest super weapon, the Apollo missiles,” Younger Tony said as he gestured to the screen that displayed schematics to new and advanced weaponry. 

Both Loki and you stood patiently in the back of the room watching the presentation of death and destruction. They were talking about tactics to take the most lives and to cause the most danger. 

“But those are people they’re talking about, with families…” you said, still keeping your voice low out of habit. 

“Not to these men, to them death is a business and war means profit,” Loki said, his hands behind his back. 

“How could- But that isn’t Tony anymore. He’s seen the error of his ways,” you said, crossing your arms to display false confidence. 

“Oh, but has he really? He has made more money from being Iron Man than he or his father ever did. He wears that ridiculous suit and parades it around like a show pony calling itself a hero. But now instead of selling weapons he sells his image, to who ever is the highest bidder, it just so happens to be your side at the moment,” He said standing still as the scene changed again. 

The scene now showed a large crowd of military men standing in front of a stage draped in red, white and blue. Glancing around you were barely able to get a good view of the stage so instead you looked for a better spot to see. As you made your way through the crowd something stopped you in your tracks, causing your heart to beat a million miles a second. There stood someone you loved, but he didn’t look like the same man, he looked...happier. 

“Bucky!” You screamed, pushing your way through the crowd. 

You reached for him but your arms just went straight through him, he didn’t even notice you standing next to him. “Bucky…” you whimpered. 

“Remember, you’re not really here,” Loki said harshly as he stood next to you. 

Your heart made its way back down to your chest as you looked up at him, the man without a care in the world. His short hair was the first thing you noticed, and you were not used to it at all. Sure, Bucky had shown you pictures of his days in the 107th, but seeing it was completely different, it made it more real. You couldn’t help but stare at his face as he looked casually through the crowd, not in fear of who was there, only out of curiosity. His shoulders were held higher, his lips were always in a slight smirk, and his eyes glistened. The weight that you were used to him carrying was non existent here, he wasn’t clouded in guilt, he didn’t look resentful, he was just...here. 

“The show’s about to start…” Loki cooed, turning his attention to the stage, his height allowing him to see with no problem. 

You also turned your attention to the stage to see a familiar form draped in red, white and blue grace the stage. Steve walked up to the microphone, looking just as awkward and nervous as ever, and opened a script and began to read. His voice showed caution as he read each word to the crowd in silence, he was trying to advertise some sort of bullet or gun, you weren’t sure. Just as he continued, a loud obnoxious voice shot through the damp air. 

“Bring back the girls!” The disembodied voice yelled, causing the crowd to laugh in an uproar.

You glanced over at Bucky again to find him smiling, but not laughing like the other soldiers, almost as if he felt sorry for the man on stage, the man he didn’t yet recognize. His best friend was up on stage and he had no clue, he just thought Steve was small and back in Brooklyn. 

“Isn’t this interesting? The man that serves as a symbol for his country, paraded around like a monkey,” Loki said.

“Yeah...it’s sad…” You said, pity on your face. 

“But how can the great “Captain America” be sad? He was created to serve not lead. He cost his first mate the rest of his life, caused him all this pain. And for what so that he wasn’t alone in the future, how pathetic,” Loki said with disgust, eyeing the man that you loved standing next to you. 

“Steve didn’t want that to happen, he never wanted anything to happen to Bucky,” 

“But life chooses sides, and for one to gain, the other must lose. He led your metal man to die, but still continued on, because he had to complete the mission. He’s not loyal or righteous, he just follows whoever holds the leash,” He said, a trace of bitterness in his words. 

Just a you binked the scene changed again, but this time displaying three separate screens, each playing a different event. The first screen on the far left showed Clint and Natasha in a foreign city, which you assumed to be Budapest, shooting arrows and bullets at their assailants, killing each and every one. 

“The two master assassins that think doing some community service will clean the blood from their hands. Killing is just a job to them, nothing more. They don’t have morals, they have priorities. But how long before their job is to take down an even greater threat, one that could level a city…” Loki said, glancing over to you. 

Turning to the next screen you could almost hear Loki rolling his eyes at the scene. There you saw Thor fighting alongside his team from asgard, blocking attacks from their backs and throwing his hammer around violently. 

“Do I really need to say anything? This mindless meat tank is a case in its own,” He said, clear disgust gracing his silver tongue. 

The last screen showed something different than the other last two, there wasn’t any fighting or yelling. Instead Bruce stood in his bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror, his eyes tired and swollen as if they had been dried of all tears. He didn’t move for several moments, causing the tension in the air to thicken. All of a sudden you saw him lift up a gun to his mouth and fire. You screamed and quickly looked away, tears forming in your eyes. After a few moments, you realized there was no sound of his body hitting the ground. Slowly turning around, you saw him standing in the same place, unmoving. Bruce pulled the gun from his mouth and reached his other hand to the roof of his mouth, pulling something out. His fingers held a single crushed bullet, covered in saliva...

“This one’s interesting...Similar to you in a way. A monster not yet able to control himself, and he fears what he is capable of. As well as the rest of the teams, he has you all on your toes. How different do you think they see you? And how long till you have to resort to...drastic measures...” Loki questioned, before turning to you. 

You lifted your sleeve up to your eyes, wiping away your tears of shock before taking a deep breath. You didn't want to but you knew he was right, right about all of this, how long until they were ordered to take you down, even kill you? How long until your own team turned against you? Maybe the people you fought beside were not who you thought they were...


	14. Please...

“Any idea where she might be?” Steve asked as we walked down the street, getting plenty of glances from civilians on the sidewalks. 

I was silent for several moments. Where would she be? I had no idea. I was the one that spent most of my time with her, but she had a habit of not sharing a lot. Whenever I would get close to her revealing something she would shout, “sharing-time’s over,” and avoid the conversation. I did ask her about this once and she just said that she didn’t see remembering her past as being as important as helping me with mine… She always focused on helping me remember my past that she didn’t feel the need to share hers. I guess I just took this for granted. 

So the only thing I had to work with was when I was with her, which was very often. It had to be something personal, someplace only she and I knew about...Got it. 

“Follow me,” I said, running as Steve followed on foot and Sam and Tony in the sky. 

Running a few blocks from the tower I remembered back to last year, the place she showed me. I slowed when we got close to the thick forest at the edge of the park, I then motioned for Sam and Tony to join us on the ground. 

“Alright, she said this is where her and her dad used to come a lot. So chances are she thinks she’s hidden in her, because only her and I know about it. Just don’t engage, she’s probably high strung and and will attack on sight, we just need to calm her down,” I said, stepping over the small road stopper as we made our way down the steep incline. 

“Wait, if only you two know about it, she would know that you would come after her. Do you think she wanted us to find her, you know, subconsciously,” Sam pondered out loud. 

Y/n’s smart, so if she really didn’t want anyone to find her she would choose somewhere random and obscure. So if I was right, she really did want us to find her, even if it was deep deep down. 

We stepped cautiously through the brush, shouting y/n’s name in hopes to get a response. It was about 30 mins into our search when I heard a familiar voice coming from the east. I turned to the team and pushed my finger to my lips, and motioned for them to follow. We were silent for the most part, but once we got closer I heard a loud CRACK come from behind. I snapped my head around to find Steve’s foot standing on a branch and a guilty look on his face. Just like the punk to do the most cliche thing possible, step on a damn branch. 

I listened for the voice again but the sudden noise was followed only by quick silence. I walked forward more and immediately froze in my footsteps. There she was, my y/n, but her face was different. She was paler and her fearful eyes were framed in dark circles, she looked like how I felt before, before I had a second chance. I wanted to run up to her and wrap my arms around her, and bury my face in her hair, but I knew all too well how dangerous that was. I opened my mouth to say something but before any sound came out, she bolted in the opposite direction. 

“Y/n! Wait!” I yelled, running after her. 

The back of her jacket flew behind her as she jumped over logs and dodging branches, giving me a two second warning to what was coming up. I kept my eyes focused on her, I wouldn’t let her get away this time. As she ran faster she didn’t lift her leg high enough as she jumped over a large log, so she was sent to the ground. I stepped over the log slowly, so not to scare her, I looked down at her with pitiful eyes. She looked like hell, her eyes were terrified and her clothes were dark and dirty. This was exactly what I didn’t want for her, to live the life of a criminal, to fear herself. 

I kneeled down and held my hand out to her, but instead she just quickly backed up in panic. My eyes softened as I looked down at her hands which were covered in a black fabric, in fact none of her skin was showing except for her face, she was completely hidden and shut off. 

“Y/n, it’s ok, you’re not going to hurt me... please…” I begged, moving my hand closer to her. 

Within a second she tore off her glove and threw her palm towards me as a force shot out of her and into my chest. I was sent flying in the opposite direction, before something hard and unmoving stopped me. I hit the bark before gravity pulled me down quickly for another blow, completely knocking the wind out of me. My head buzzed as I tried to catch my breath by heaving and gasping; looking around my vision only allowed me to see double. I glanced up to see the rest of the team being tossed in the opposite directions. 

This was going to painful.


	15. Engage

We were following Bucky for a few feet before we lost him, but we kept running in the same direction. It wasn’t until we saw Bucky’s body fly through the air and slam into a tree above us that we knew we were going in the right direction. Running forward we were met by a very pissed off y/n with glowing eyes and hands, steam almost seemed to be radiating off of her body into the dusk air. 

“Alright, now’s the time to engage!” Tony said, as he, Sam and I stood in front of her, prepared to attack, but keeping our distance. 

We were just about to engage when the ground between us exploded, sending each of us and chunks of forest floor in opposite directions. We all landed with a loud thud, the same constant ringing in our ears as we tried to get our composure. As I tried to get my bearings I saw y/n’s fuzzy form looking at me with her hand raised. Seconds later I heard a cracking noise from behind me and snapped my head back to find a large tree making it’s way down on top of me. Just in the nick of time I rolled out of the way, the solid mass shaking the ground as it made contact. I was about to jump at y/n when someone else got to her first. 

“LET ME GO!!!” Y/n screamed in anger and frustration as Bucky held her tight. 

Why was she fighting so hard, didn’t she know we wanted to help her? Couldn’t she see we were worried about her? What was causing her to be this violent?

“Stop fighting us! Y/n, we just want to help!” Bucky said, his face full of worry and panic as his grip around her tightened. 

Just when I thought that Bucky had contained her I saw her hands and eyes glow again. My reflexes caused me to grab my shield and hold it in front of me before she let out another large burst of energy that leveled the secluded forest. I wasn’t given a chance to blink before all four of us were sent flying through the forest, landing to the ground...again. 

I couldn’t hear anything for a few moments, before the subtle ringing in my ears began to grow. Looking around I saw only the blurry forms of three figures on the ground, attempting to lift themselves up. What the hell just happened?

“She just took down four Avengers on her own, are you kidding me?” Tony said, pacing the living room as we all sat around with a drink in all our hands, except Bucky’s that was.

He didn’t like to drink anymore, not like he used to. He was always haunted by the idea of losing control again, that if he let loose, someone would get hurt. The only time I’ve seen this cloud of caution disappear was when he was around y/n. But with her gone, there was only a storm. 

“Why did she attack us like that? It was almost as if she didn’t recognize us?” Sam said, taking a sip from his glass of brandy. 

“She’s stressed and scared, it only makes sense...It’s what I would’ve done…” Bucky said, resting his chin on his clenched fists, deep in thought. 

“Let’s not focus on what happened, let’s focus on what we need to do,” I said, standing up, rubbing my more sensitive rib from the “insider” earlier. 

“What we need to do is get wasted and worry about it in the morning,” Tony said taking a large gulp of his whiskey before slamming it on the table. 

I didn’t approve, but the way everyone looked, it seemed that was all we could really do for the time being. 

“To getting our asses handed to us,” Tony said as we all lifted our drinks in the air in a sort of anti-toast.


	16. Fallout

It had been two days since the hydra agents found you in the forest and you have been no less cautious. You continued your trek on your own, avoiding people and staying in abandoned places where you did not belong. The more time that passed, the more you thought of the team and of Bucky. Was this how he felt when he was alone after being the “Winter Soldier”? This lost, this empty? There was no way to know for sure, but you thought it must be close. 

It was another one of those damp and dreary days that never failed to drain you and make you feel lost. You had been training with Loki for a few weeks but you still felt that your energy was just waiting to do some more damage, that you were ready to do some more damage. Rubbing your hands together in an attempt to warm them in the chilly air you strolled down the sidewalk of Brooklyn, passing unsuspecting civilians. Civilians, hmm. You never thought to consider the people around you civilians before, they were just people, but now they were innocents that needed protecting. It’s funny how your time as an Avenger changed your state of mind to something...heroic. But you weren’t a hero, you were a danger, to both strangers and the people you loved. 

The sharp noise of metal screeching broke your concentration away and focused it on the scene being unfolded in front of you. You had to blink twice due to how cliche the whole situation seemed; an older woman had just begun to cross the street straight into oncoming traffic while a truck came barrelling towards her. Were you seeing this right? Either way, you had to do something. Running towards the scene you tore off your gloves and held them out in front of you, towards the truck. Not in range. Running closer you focused on the truck and it’s breaks while you finally stood in front of the woman, ready to take the blow. You shut your eyes as you felt the system of the vehicle, searching for the breaks, once you finally found it, you slowly applied pressure so not to flip the truck over and cause more damage. The truck finally slid to a halt, stopping in front of you and the woman. “Just like in the movies,” you thought to yourself. Relaxing you felt a small hand on your shoulder, behind you stood the old woman with a smile on her face. You turned around and took her hand with a smile. 

“Thank you young lady,” she said with her sweet but crackly voice. 

“Your welcome, but I think you should get going,” you said, leading her down the crosswalk to the other side. 

“Hey look! It’s Plague!” You heard an unfamiliar voice shout from the sidewalk. 

Snapping your head back you immediately spotted a crowd begin to form around you. Glancing at the public's faces you felt panic begin to bubble inside you, and there was no way out. Searching around you looked for your gloves that you had tossed on the ground, but found them nowhere. Now you really felt your face heat up as the crowd shouted at you, trying to get your attention. 

“Why did you set off that bomb!?” One person screamed from the crowd. 

A bomb? Did they think you were some kind of terrorist now? Were you? Finally you blocked out their screams and pushed through the crowd, running away. You thought you would relax once you were away but you felt nothing but fear and panic. Running down the sidewalk you could feel everyone's eyes peering at you in distain or confusion, or so you thought. Quickly dodging into an alleyway you tried to catch your breath when you felt something familiar, something...dangerous. Lifting up your hands you saw that purple hue that you only grew to hate. Large veins pulsated in your arms and pain shot through your body. You had been holding it in too long, it wanted out, and it wanted out NOW. 

“No, not here. Not now,” you whispered to yourself in a panic. 

You were in the middle of a civilian population, if you were to release now there would be nothing but chaos. Chaos that you caused. Holding your hands close to your chest, attempting to contain your pain you quickly thought through all possible solutions. And there was only one that promised that no one would get hurt, well, not anyone else. You took a deep breath, sprinting down the sidewalk before you reached your destination. This plan you had thought out before, a kind of failsafe if you ever felt the need, and today you definitely did. 

“Hey! You can’t go back there!” The man yelled as you sprinted into the meat shop and ran towards the back. 

The freezer. That was the only thing that you could think of that would stop you, it worked before so it has to work now. Swinging the door open you threw yourself into the room and shut the door forcefully. You could hear the yelling of the shop owner as he made his way over to the room, ready to force you out of his shop. Focusing on the door handle you bent it so that it was impossible to open. More yelling ensued as you backed away from the door, the cold air wrapping around your warm skin. 

It only took a few minutes for yourself to cool down, the veins on your arms fading. The cold was your greatest weakness as far as you knew, ever since you fell in that frozen lake, the cold was one of your top fears. You could feel yourself being drained of energy the longer you stayed in there, your eyelids could barely stay open. Even the voices coming from outside the door began to grow quiet as you began to cool. You discovered that the cold didn’t allow your body to react because of how focused it was on keeping itself warm and stable. This thought was the only thing that kept you calm sometimes, to have the option to shut down. Although it didn’t make it any less painful. 

You finally felt your knees give in as you stumbled against the back wall, sliding down to the floor. Relaxation, a feeling you hadn’t felt in weeks, washed over you as you slumped back and your eyes slowly closed. Everything was black and everything was silent.


	17. Silver Fingertips

The tower had been silent for the past few days but my mind hadn’t been so lucky. After I found y/n in the forest alone and scared I couldn’t help but feel the same, and all this worry was starting to give me a headache. I tried to distract myself, and pushing my limits in the weightroom was the only thing that seemed to do the job. Laying on the bench press, my heavy breaths allowed me to push the weight into the air, hold it, and bring it back down. I continued this routine for several minutes before the sound of the intercom cut through the air. 

“I have a voicemail that may be of interest to you Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis told me over the intercom. 

“Alright, play it,” I said, sitting on the end of the bench press, wiping the sweat off of my face with a rag. 

“Hello, umm...Avengers? Yeah, I have your super-girl here sitting in my freezer down at Pal’s Deli, and I’d appreciate if you came and got her out. I saw that you were looking for this…”Plagu-” 

Immediately, I got up and grabbed my jacket, swinging it over my shoulders and sprinted out of the gym. Running down the hallway I smashed my hand against the elevator button and jumped inside. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an elevator as slow as this one, and it was extremely aggravating. I barely gave the doors time to open before I squeezed through and ran into the garage. Looking around I needed to find something quick, and I could always rely on Steve forgetting to take his keys out of the ignition. Jumping on the bike I immediately turned the key and took off, out onto the street. 

Merging with traffic, I quickly rushed through lanes before getting cut off, forcing me to slow down. Taking deep breaths I tried to relax, I needed to get to y/n not into a crash. It only took me about two minutes to reach the deli and I was immediately greeted by a crowd of onlookers peering into the shop. I parked the bike and aggressively pushed through the crowd until I reached the freezer door. I could feel myself heating up as I shoved my way through the crowd who stood there like an audience waiting for a show. They were looking at y/n like she was some kind of animal, like she was just there to make their day more interesting. This idea just made my anger boil.

“Ah, she’s in there. I can’t get the door open though, she bent the door knob. She’s going to be paying for that,” the man who I assumed to be the shop owner. 

I quickly shot a glare over to him through my strings of hair dangling in front of my face. As soon as my sharp glare reached him his face grew paler and he immediately looked away. Turning back towards the door I walked closer and peered into the small window that was fogged up due to the breath of all the onlookers. Reaching my flesh hand up I wiped away the steam and felt my heart drop. There she was, laying unconscious on the ground, a thin layer of frost covering her like a blanket. Backing up, I quickly reached for the door handle, feeling the odd shape it was bent in. She obviously didn’t want anyone in, but I wasn’t going to give up that easily. Using my metallic arm I clenched the handle firmly and with all my force pushed it down. There was a loud click of the metal door unlocking and I immediately pulled it open, jumping inside. 

“Y/n! Can you hear me? You need to wake up,” I said as I rushed to her side, holding her in my arms. 

At this point I didn’t care about the danger or the possibility of infection, I only wanted her in my arms. I only wanted to know she was safe, and now...I didn’t know…

“Y/n...please...you have to wake up…” I pleaded as I held her in my arms. 

Looking down at her face I noticed her blue fingertips and purple lips, and gracing them was the faintest sight of breath. This small sign of life was enough to let my heart return back to it’s chest, and allow myself to breathe again. With my warm flesh hand I held her small frozen one, tightly gripping the tips in hopes to return them to their normal temperature. Watching her face, she seemed so at peace and the frost gracing her cheeks and speckling her hair made her look, as cliche as it was, like she was out of a fairy tail. 

“Buck! Stop!” A voice shouted from outside the freezer.

My head shot up to find Tony and Steve standing in the doorway, looking down at me with worry glazing their eyes. 

“You need to back away,” Steve said, holding his arm out. 

“What? No, she needs our help-”

“We know, that’s why we need you to back away. She’s in a state where she’s the most vulnerable and we need to get her out of here. She needs to be taken back to the tower while she’s still cold,” Tony explained, looking into my eyes with a foreign seriousness. 

My first thought immediately was absolutely not, she needed to be woken up and told she was safe. But as I thought about it more I realized that they were right, we needed to make this as seamless as possible so that she would be safe and not set off. Gently, I placed her head down on the ground and backed away as Tony kneeled down with an unfamiliar device in his hands. There was a faint beeping noise as he scanned her body as it rested on the ground. 

“Alright, she’s stable but heating up. We need to act fast,” he said, shoving the device in his pocket and standing again. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please make a path for us to get through, that’d be great,” Tony said, facing the crowd that peered into the room. 

Immediately they began to back up and clear a path for the infamous Tony Stark to pass through. Turning around he gestured for me to grab y/n quickly and follow him. Bending down I placed my arms behind her legs and her back, lifting her up so that her head rested against my chest. Carrying her through the crowd I tried my best to hide her from the judging eyes of the public before I was released onto the sidewalk where Steve and Tony waited with one of Tony’s many vehicles. 

“Alright, throw her in the back quickly, before the press gets here,” Tony said, jumping into the driver's seat.

Gently I placed her body in the back seat of the van, making sure that she wouldn’t have a kink in her neck once she woke up. Closing the door I began to walk to the opposite door, opening it with my flesh hand.

“Thanks for stealing my bike, jerk,” Steve said, looking for any scratches on his precious motorcycle. 

“It’s your fault for trusting too much, punk,” I said, stepping into the backseat, resting y/n’s head on my lap. 

The entire time back to the tower I just twirled her strands of hair in my metallic hand, memorized by the contrast of her h/c against the silver of my fingertips.


	18. Never Let Go

“This is just a necessary precaution, Sergeant Barnes. We are unaware of how miss y/n will react once she is awake,” Jarvis told me over the intercom. 

“He’s right, we don’t know what happened to her out there and we need to keep a close eye on her. I know you’re worried Buck, but it’ll be fine,” Steve said, reassuring me with concerned eyes. 

I couldn’t help but just stare at her, laying there in the center of the glass cage I once was held in. Something inside me stirred at the comparison, I couldn’t help but feel helpless. Sure, I could fight off anyone that would even threaten her, but this threat was internal, and I couldn’t do anything to save her. Her body laid limp inside the green lit room, empty on all sides, leaving her alone and in silence. I didn’t respond to the rest of the team, I just stood in silence with my arms crossed as we watched her breathing over the monitor. 

“Her vitals are returning to normal, and she seems to be warming up,” Tony said, tapping his fingers on the screen. 

I still remained silent. I didn’t know what to say or do, I was lost. I guess I must have been zoning out because I suddenly saw a pair of fingers snap in front of my face, followed by a wave. 

“Yoo-hoo, earth to Bucky,” Tony said, suddenly standing in front of me. 

“Oh, sorry. I was just-thinking. What did you say?” I asked, shaking my head, trying to concentrate. 

“I said, why do you think she locked herself in that freezer. You know her better than any of us,” Tony said, slightly annoyed. 

“Well, back during last Christmas, Y/n and I went out to the woods. We were just messing around when she fell through some ice...I eventually pulled her back up but she was shaking like crazy and in a panic. She was eventually fine after she woke up, but she did avoid the cold like the plague...bad word choice...But I don’t know why she would voluntarily go in there, she hates the cold,” I said, rubbing my thumb into my metallic hand. 

“Hmm, I’ll look into it,” Tony said, without as much as a snarky nickname or a sarcastic statement. It showed that he was taking the situation seriously, and I appreciated it. 

“Hey, Buck, can I talk with you for a bit?” Steve asked, walking towards the doorway. 

I followed, uncrossing my arms and tucking them in my back pocket. Turning to face Steve I noticed the unfamiliar strain on his face as he crossed his arms. 

“Bucky...I know y/n’s important to you… But she took us down under 5 minutes. Anyone able to take down two super soldiers, a man who can fly, and a man dressed in a robot suit...we should be worried about,” he said, getting straight to the point.

“I know, I know. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be cautious...It’s just...it’s hard to think of her as a...threat…” I said, peering back into the room that held the glass cage.

“Well, if I know anything about y/n, it's that she can get herself through this...She just needs some help, no matter how much she tries to fight it,” He said, his eyebrows burrowed. 

I nodded in agreement, before going our separate ways. It was true, y/n did seem to have trouble asking for help a lot of the time, no matter how much we all offered. Anything she felt she could do herself, which was everything, she did. Steve made his way down the hall towards the elevator, while I walked back into the room, not taking my eyes off y/n’s form for a second. Strolling along the walls I decided to rest my back against the glass where she faced. When she woke up, I wanted the first thing she saw to be how much I wasn't ever going to let go. 

“Sergeant Barnes, Tony requests your presence on the research hall,” Jarvis said abruptly over the intercom. 

I swear, I'm going to find this Jarvis and strangle him. But Tony refuses to tell me where his office is, he keeps telling me that he isn't a real person to try and get me off his scent. But I’ll find him eventually. 

“On my way,” I said, rubbing my face and stretching my back out from resting on that thick glass.

As I blinked awake I turned around to find y/n missing from her spot in the center of the cell, panic quickly washed over me. That was until something caught my eye from where I had been resting. Her back press up against the glass, the sleeping form of Plague rested curled in the same ball she had been before, her chest breathing up and down. I could physically feel my chest warm when I saw she had moved, Steve was right, she was going to be just fine. 

I reluctantly made my way towards the elevator and pressed the button for the 22nd floor, impatiently waiting for it to reach it’s destination. I quickly walked down the hall, wanting to get this over with, before spotting Tony in another one of his labs, focusing on some sort of substance in a beaker. I casually knocked on the already open door as Tony gestured for me to walk in. 

“Ah, glad to see sleeping beauty’s awake,” he said, spinning around in his chair to face me as I stood, arms crossed. 

“She moved,” I said, ready to get to the point. 

“Yes, I know, Jarvis told me. But she's having a hard time staying conscious it seems, I'm still trying to get to the center of that...But I wanted to ask you something,” he said, waiting to make sure I was actually listening. 

“Alright, so you know how you told us about y/n’s little “accident” with the frozen the lake? And I know you’re the closest to her, ya know with being her boyfriend and all. Do you think the cold is her kryptonite? ” he said, trying to come off as casual as possible, despite what he was asking. I already didn't like the sound of this. 

“Hypothetically, do you think it could be used to stop her,” he said, brushing it off as if he had asked me something unimportant. 

I was frozen, until a rage thawed my expression to show clear disgust. I felt my face heat up and my fists clench as I tried to calm myself down, but I knew it was going to take a lot more than that. 

“Hypothetically, I would watch what you say next very carefully,” I said through my clenched jaw. 

“Listen, big guy. I’m just thinking what’s best for everyone...And if you loved y/n as much as you say you do, you would underst-” his attempt to show how he was clearly not scared of me was quickly interrupted by my flesh hand grabbing his throat and sending him to the ground.

“What the hell,” he said softly, trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of him. 

“I am thinking of everyone, and I know treating y/n like a problem that needs to be solved rather than a member of this team isn’t going to be good for anyone. Now unless you have any constructive suggestions, I suggest that you save the last resorts for the last resort,” I said firmly, before releasing his throat from my tight grasp. Storming out of the room I left Iron Man laying on the lab floor, reminding him of his vulnerability without his iron suit.


	19. Internal Damage

It had been a few hours later when Tony finally came down from his little lab and joined the rest of us on the main floor. Steve and Sam were playing some sort of card game which Steve was horrible at apparently, while Clint and I sat at the bar, a beer in his hand, and a whiskey in mine. I usually try to avoid alcohol as much as possible but I really needed the fog of intoxication. 

Immediately as Tony entered the room, I felt his eyes sharply burrow into me, while I only responded with a glare from over my glass as I took another sip. Without a word he grabbed a beer from the fridge and watched Sam and Steve continue their game from the couch. 

“Yeesh, is it just me or did it just get really tense in here,” Clint said, attempting to break the silence.

“Maybe it's just migration season, Hawkeye,” Tony immediately replied, without looking at anyone in the eye. 

“Haha, very funn-”

Clint was interrupted by a shock wave shaking through the entire building, shaking bottles, flickering lights and knocking items off shelves and tables. We all held onto something different to regain our balance before the motion finally stopped. 

“What the hell was that?” Steve asked, seeming a little unsettled. 

“Language,” Tony replied, glancing over to the boy scout, who just glared back.

“Sir, miss y/n is awake, and her vitals are spiking again,” Jarvis said over the speakers. 

We all quickly ran down the hall to the observation room, where Tony immediately turned on the screen to show the containment room. Everything in the room, but the cage itself, was completely destroyed. Lights were either broken and hanging out of the ceiling or still in tact but flickering. When the lights flashed we saw the figure of y/n shaking and pressed against one of the glass walls, fear covering her face. She was frantically looking around, almost expecting a threat to come at her, and even through the screen I could see the sweat dripping from her face. I had to get down there. 

“I reinforced the glass with shock resistance, and what I call “shakers” which shake the molecules of the glass so she isn’t able to focus and break the glass,” Tony explained to the rest of the group. 

As much as Tony annoyed the hell out of me, I had to admit that he was smart. Looking at the rest of the team, they either held a look of confusion, worry or fascination on their faces as they watched the screen. Standing in silence, we saw y/n finally stand up, panic still on her face but her stature seemed to be slightly returning to normal. She paced around the room, with her mouth moving, as if she was in conversation with someone, shown by her hand gestures. But as she spoke to herself, she suddenly began to shout before falling to the ground in pain. What was going on with her? 

“Did you reinforce the floor too?” I asked, looking over at Tony.

Without another word he immediately reached over the control panel and flipped open a case holding a button. There was no doubt that whatever that button did was meant to stop y/n...at what cost was unclear. 

“We need to neutralize her before she causes any more damage,” he said, not looking at anyone as he studied the screen. 

“No. I can help her. Don’t you dare touch that switch,” I warned, running out of the room and down the hall towards the elevator. 

Once the elevator doors opened I ran down the hall and into the containment room, locking eyes with y/n. She stared up at me with glassy eyes, as if she wasn’t really there at all, her body was there but her soul wasn’t. Cautiously walking up to the cage, avoiding anything that would possibly set her off, I made my way towards the entrance. She stared back at me as I began to type in the code, when I noticed the glow of purple creep up towards her face, veins threatening her expression like thorns. As the door slid open I could see the panic in her eyes but her body didn’t move, almost like it couldn’t. 

“Buck, don’t get any closer! She’s dangerous!” I heard both Tony and Steve yell over the intercom as I entered the room. 

They certainly weren’t helping. Her expression showed that she wanted to scream, to cry out but she knew that if she let go for a second, she could set off. She was being pushed off the edge and needed someone to catch her. 

“Hey, focus on me alright. I’m here, you’re not going to hurt me,” I said, kneeling down, but keeping my distance so that she was comfortable. 

I peered deep into her eyes, showing that I was being completely honest, and that I wasn’t scared. But she couldn’t allow herself to relax, she was too scared, too focused on containing her power. 

“Barnes, you need to get out of there. Y/n’s trying to contain it by internalizing it, but it’s damaging her internal organs. She won’t be able to contain it for much longer,” Tony said, matter-of-factly over the speakers. 

I felt my face drain of all color when I heard this. She was killing herself to keep herself from hurting anyone else. At this point all I could feel was fear, but I couldn’t let that show, I had to keep my eyes dry. I had to distract her, I had to remind her why she should stay. 

“You remember our first date?” I said, beginning my story.


	20. Remember?

“No, not that. Where are you planning on going? Olive Garden?” Tony said, gesturing to Bucky’s simple t-shirt and black pants. 

“Is that not a fancy restaurant?” He asked, genuine confusion on his face. 

“Oh god, let’s just forget you just asked that and get you into something presentable,” Tony said, placing his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. 

After about 20 minutes of Bucky denying most of the fancy suits that Tony pushed on him, he finally settled for something simpler and most his speed. Out of the back, Tony pulled out a black suit with a leather lapel, covering a simple purple dress shirt, and divided by a thin black tie. 

“It’s not what I would’ve chosen but I have to say it suits you,” Tony said, standing back, observing his subject. 

“Tony, you really don’t have to do all this. Y/n and I-” Bucky began, before Tony put up his hand as a gesture to stop. 

“I don’t think so, after all that’s happened, the least you two deserve is a real, sit down, and romantic date,” Tony interrupted, a look of excitement on his face. 

Before Bucky could protest, Tony pushed him out the door and told him that he called him a cab to take him to the destination where you would meet him. There wasn’t much given to chance when it came to Tony arranging things it seemed. Once he made it to the ground level of the building, and stepped through the glass door out into the chilly october night air he was met by the fanciest looking cab he’s ever seen. All he really needed was a simple yellow cab, something that didn’t make him feel like he was going to a wedding. The windows were so tinted that it was difficult to see them and enjoy the scenery, so instead he sat in silence, rubbing his fingers with the palm of his hands, trying to calm his nerves. 

This was you and his real first date, and he was sweating buckets. You both had been to hell and back together, but he still felt like he was going on a date for the first time, and due to the fact that he’s been the Winter Soldier for a few decades, he was almost right. As the cab pulled up, he struggled to see through the windows before the cab driver opened his door for him.   
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, handing the man 10 bucks, followed by a glance of suspicion from him. 

Was that not enough? Was that too much? Was he not supposed to tip him? He hadn’t even made it into the building and he was already a mess. Quickly walking away, Bucky looked up to the tall building decorated in thin text and a simple black exterior. Walking inside, he immediately felt like a fish out of water. People decorated in their nicest clothes and jewelry either stood, speaking to each other with champagne in their hands or sitting at a table, also drinking champagne. Rich people really like champagne. 

“Sergeant Barnes?” An unfamiliar voice asked. 

The sudden voice caused him to jump and turn to face the waiter with a slightly panicked face. 

“Mr. Stark has reserved a table for you. If you will follow me,” the man said, a look of annoyance already plastered on his face. 

He agreed to the man’s orders and followed quickly in suit. He led him to a table for two in the center of the room, where everyone in the room would be able to watch his every move. He already knew this was going to be bad. He only had about 10 minutes to try and calm his nerves before you arrived and caused his heart to skip a beat. 

“H-hey Buck,” you said, equally as nervous as the Winter Soldier. 

“Oh hey!” He said, quickly getting up, almost tipping the table over before you caught a leg with your foot, steading it again. 

“So-sorry! Oh my-” he started before losing track of what he was going to say.   
He couldn’t help but stare at you, you looked beautiful. You wore a simple deep purple dress and a simple necklace so not distract from your neck. Your hair was done up and your makeup didn’t hide a single thing, only amplified your natural look. To Bucky you were nothing short of perfect. 

“Shall we sit,” you said, gesturing to your seats. 

“Oh right! Yeah,” he said, snapping out of it. 

Once you were seated, you both sat in silence for several minutes, only speaking to the waiter to tell him your orders. You both had fought together, saved each other, and lifted each other up, but now that you both were here sitting together in silence, you had nothing to say. It took about 20 minutes for your food to arrive and when it did, it took all your willpower not to burst out into laughter. And you could see the same look on Bucky’s face as the waiter walked away. Looking down at your plate you were greeted by a microscopic speck of meat topped with a single leaf, probably picked from outside. 

“Are they being serious with this?” You asked in a surprised tone. 

“They served more back in the war, and that’s when they had to minimize rations,” Bucky chuckled to himself. 

You both burst into laughter, getting a few glares from the other guests. Opening your eyes you looked at Bucky and you could feel that you both were thinking the same thing. Getting up you grabbed your jacket from behind your chair and swung it over your shoulders. 

“Let’s face it, this isn’t us,” you said, buttoning your jacket close. 

“Agreed, after you,” he said getting up from the table and following you towards the front of the restaurant. 

“How much for the meal?” Bucky asked the confused waiter. 

“Mr. Stark paid for your meals when he made the reservation,” he replied, obviously glad to see us go. And frankly, the feeling was mutual. 

“Well, if he asks, we loved the meal,” you said before grabbing Bucky by the arm and dragging him out of the building. 

You both quickly left the building and giggled in relief. You both could finally breathe. 

“Well, what now?” Bucky asked, turning to face you, a soft smile gracing his face. 

“Hmm, well. I heard about this new burger food truck down the street that I wanted to try. If you’re up for it that is,” you said, looking up at the night sky through the tall buildings. 

“Anything’s better than being hungry,” he said, gesturing to his stomach with his metallic arm. 

“Alright, follow me soldier,” you said, walking in front of him, mimicking a marching soldier. 

Walking down the street in a dress and suit did look a little strange, and even more out of place when you both ordered from the food truck. Once you had gotten your orders, you both dug right in. Barely attempting to not get any ketchup on your clothes, since you didn’t want to have to pay for them, you both scarfed down the meal. Looking at each other you couldn’t help but to laugh, you both were dressed in the nicest clothes you’ve seen with ketchup and mustard all over your mouths. 

“You got a little something th-yeah there, you got it,” you told Bucky as he wiped his mouth with his hand, followed by giggling. 

“Alright, we can’t tell Tony about this. This will be our little secret,” you said, winking at your date who couldn’t help but smile back. 

Walking together through the dark city, you glanced at the buildings as you past, peering in the windows, watching life pass. As you became lost in the lights of the city, you felt something cold touch your hand before quickly moving away. Looking over you saw Bucky pull his metallic hand away in embarrassment, trying to play it cool. Giggling you reached over and grabbed the metal appendage, intertwining your warm fingers in the cold hand. Looking back up you saw his eyes soften and a smirk form on his face, the same forming on your own. You both made your way down the sidewalk when you suddenly felt a cold drop of water land on your nose, which caused you to jump in surprise, and Bucky to laugh. 

“Aw man, are you serious?” You said, lifting up your hand to catch another raindrop. 

And without a second of hesitation the rain began to pour, and it wasn’t just a drizzle, it was full on heavy rain. Looking around for cover you suddenly felt a tug on your arm and turned before being dragged down the sidewalk. You both ran, laughing uncontrollably, jumping over puddles, and covering your eyes with your free hand. Stopping finally, Bucky dragged you under a thick tree that blocked out the heavy rain, catching it with it’s thick leaves. Your laughter subsided as the peace of the shelter calmed the air around you, causing you to relax and glance over to Bucky who seemed to be in the same kind of tranquility. He turned to you and smiled, the softness remaining in his eyes. Without need to speak a word he leaned in a pressed his soft lips against yours, wrapping his hands around your cheeks and jaw. You tried not to smile until you two broke apart, standing underneath the tree in silence together. It felt so natural, like this is where you both belonged, no powers, no bad guys, no heros. Just two people enjoying the rain. 

“We should probably should get back to the tower and explain why we’re soaking wet,” Bucky said, looking out into the rain. 

“You mean tell him that we just decided to walk back,” you stated, glancing over to him, a smirk on your face. 

“Exactly.”


	21. MRI

“Y/n, do you remember?” Bucky pleaded, finishing his story as he kneeled in front of you. 

Tears began to form in your eyes as you stared at him. You had to relax, have faith that you weren’t going to set off, take a chance that you could control it. You took a deep breath and relaxed your shoulders, dropping your arms to the ground. 

“Y-Yes, I remember,” you said quietly, looking up. 

You did it, you were in control. Bucky’s face lit up when you replied, and he immediately jumped forward and wrapped his arms around you, burying his face in your hair. You flinched at first, but then remembered to stay calm, and you gently wrapped your arms around him and embraced his hug. He was hugging you so tightly that you actually had some trouble breathing and had to ask him to release. 

“Oh! Sorry,” he said, releasing you with a smile still on his face. 

“Welcome back, kid,” you heard Steve say from the entrance of the cage, looking at the both of you with a small smile. 

“Glad to be back,” you replied, getting up from the floor. 

“Sorry to break up the sweet reunion, but I need y/n up here to run some testing,” Tony said from over the speakers. 

“No way, she needs to rest, she needs-” Bucky started, yelling up at the ceiling.

“No, it’s fine. The sooner he figures me out, the better,” you stated, placing your hands on Bucky’s shoulders, calming him down. 

Once you reached the research level you instantly felt yourself weaken, your knees felt like jelly and you had to catch yourself on the wall to your right. You quickly took a deep breath, standing back up before Bucky or Steve could look back, and when they did you just shot them a small smile. With quick steps and struggled breaths you made it down the hallway and into the lab where Tony sat, gathering some medical supplies. 

“Nice to see you again, nuke,” Tony said, turning around in his rolling chair to face you and the two super soldiers, “Now just lay here and Jarvis can begin the scan.” 

You could see Bucky physically tighten his jaw at Tony’s new ‘nickname’ for you. Glancing over to him, you gave him a look telling him that it was ok before walking over to the chair that sat in front of the scanner. With a shaky breath you sat on the chair and winced at the pain as it leaned you back, a buzzing sound filling the air. 

“Jarvis, I’m gonna need a full body scan and try to be gentle with our friend here. She’s had a pretty rough go of it,” Tony told Jarvis. 

“Certainly sir,” the disembodied voice said from over the intercom. 

As you breathed in again you watched as metal appendages moved towards you, creeping closer to your skin, You felt yourself sweat and your breath shorten, and all of a sudden the scene changed. You felt like you were going in and out of consciousness from a dream as flashbacks from your time as Hydra’s guinea pig filled your head. As a metal arm moved closer to you, you blinked and it immediately became the Hydra scientist moving in towards you with a syringe. 

“Sir, her vitals are spiking again.” Jarvis announced. 

Wincing and twitching on the table you tried your best to not cry out, and for a second you though you just might pass out.

“Stop,” Bucky said quickly, “you need to stop now!” 

“Jarvis, back off a bit,” Tony said, pushing off the ground with his feet and rolling his way over to the scanner. 

As soon as the metal appendages moved away you felt yourself gaining your grip on reality again as well as your breath. You tried to sit up but sucked in a painful breath and slammed back down on the bed. 

“Alright, what’s up?” 

“Nothing, it’s just...I’m a little scared of needles now I guess…” you said, trying to not let your fear show through. 

There was silence, and you knew that with that little statement, they knew what you meant. Sometimes you forgot how close you had become with your team, or maybe you were just really easy to read. 

“Right,” Tony said, pulling a monitor close and began to type something on it, “no needles. Time for plan B, how does a MRI sound instead?” 

“I could do that.” 

And just as you agreed a circular metallic dome formed over you, blocking your view of the ceiling. 

“Alright, you might feel a little pinch but it’s just to gather a small dose of your blood, but otherwise, no needles,” he said trying to persuade you that it was going to be ok. 

You simple hummed a ‘yes’ as a new, lighter buzzing sound filled the air, You looked around as lasers scanned your body, head to toe. You were so distracted by the green lights that you barely felt the sharp pain in your arm, but it was gone as quick as it was there. A few more moments passed before the scan was complete and you were allowed to see the ceiling once again. The bed moved up and finally became a chair again, allowing you to see Steve, Tony and Bucky watching you with cautious eyes. 

“Scan complete.”

“Alright, let’s check you out,” Tony said, viewing the monitor once again. 

For once Tony was silent, not just ‘not talking’ silent, but the air around him was void of any sound. This concerned you to say the least. 

“What?” Bucky said, waiting for a response, “what’s wrong?” 

“Well, it seems that because you internalized all that…’stuff,’ it messed with your insides. Your bones are pretty fractured, and your organs took some bruising, but otherwise you’re just peachy,” Tony said, his cocky attitude filling the air again. 

But still, you felt like he wasn’t telling you something, like he was holding something back, and it showed on his face. But whatever it was, he was hiding for a reason, and frankly...right now, you didn’t want anything to be wrong.

\---  
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay with updating! I have just been really busy with school and college, and haven't really had any free time. I hope you guys understand! :)


	22. I Missed You

After your little checkup with Dr. Tony, he finally allowed you to leave, but not before making you take some pills to dull the pain. You appreciated the sentiment, but they didn’t take much of the edge off. Sometimes being part super soldier really sucked, especially when it came to alcohol and painkillers. By the time you left the lab, you could see the night sky peer through the window at the end of the hall, decorated at the bottom with city lights. You stood there for a moment, watching as small cars passed through the streets and lights through windows shut off for the night. Although it was a stricken with poverty, crime and some real assholes, you felt at home in the city, and you wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

The sound of the elevator dinging snapped you out of your trance as you entered the small room. You pressed the button to the floor that held your room and waited patiently until you reached your destination. You knew that you should probably eat but at this point you were too exhausted and all you wanted to do was lay in bed, and whether you were asleep or not didn’t matter. Opening your door you dragged your feet, before spotting a fresh t-shirt and pair of pajama bottoms folded on your bed. You changed out of your dirty, corse clothing into the fresh, soft fabric as quickly as you could. As soon as you were changed, you tossed your old clothes on a chair to deal with in the morning. 

You turned around and slowly sat on the end of your bed, taking in a deep breath. But as you allowed the air to leave your chest you felt your throat catch itself and your eyes begin to water. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that you were full-on sobbing, rubbing your hands together and you looking down, your eyes squeezed shut. You were finally allowed to breathe, after weeks and weeks of living in fear of yourself, you finally felt relief. You just didn’t know how much you were stuffing in. As tears dropped off your chin and onto your folded hands, you suddenly heard a knock from your door. Crap. You quickly grabbed some toilet paper and dried your face, trying to regain your composure before answering the door. As soon as the door swung open you could see Bucky’s expression change from a soft smile to a face full of worry. 

“Y/n, what’s wrong?” He said, his eyebrows knit. 

You couldn’t respond, instead your vision became blurry as the tears formed before flowing down your face again. Immediately, you lifted your hand up to your face to catch your tears before you felt Bucky’s arms wrap around you and pull you to his chest. You sobbed harder as he tightened his grip around you, not enough to hurt, but enough to let you know that he was there. As he brushed through your hair with his flesh fingers you felt your breathing start to calm. 

“How about we lay down?” He asked, releasing you from his grip to be able to see your face. 

You nodded as he brushed a tear from your cheek with his metallic thumb, looking down at you with sympathetic eyes. As soon as you were under the warm covers you felt his flesh and metallic arm wrap around your waist as he hugged you, burring his face in your hair. He seemed to like doing that for some reason. You calmed your breathing as you faced the window, watching the night sky move ever-so-slightly. As your puffy eyes began to dry you felt your chest relax and your eyelids grow heavy. As Bucky’s arms held you securely, you felt like you could finally drift off into unconsciousness, peacefully. 

The glare of orange sunlight filled the room and woke you up from your peace, causing you to lift up your hand to block the rays. You finally got the energy to turn away and face the other direction, blocking the sun with your back. As you turned, you were met by the sleeping face of your partner, his messy hair covering his face and his pink lips loose as he breathed. You guessed it must’ve been a long time since either of you had slept peacefully. Your back was the only thing that was blocking the sun from hitting his face, so you tried to hold back your giggle as you laid on your back, allowing the sun rays to shoot past you. As soon as the light touched his face, Bucky immediately covered his eyes with the palm of his metallic hand which reflected the light back into yours. You let out a “GAH” as you covered your eyes with your hands again, listening to Bucky laugh. 

“Ha, karma,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse from disuse during the night. 

“Yeah,” you replied, laying on your side to face him again. 

“I missed you,” you said after a long pause of silence, with only your eyes speaking. 

“I missed you too,” Bucky replied, brushing your hair from your face with his vibranium thumb. 

Sitting up, you pushed your back against the headboard and rested the back of your head on the wall, letting out a slight sigh. As he watched, Bucky eventually did the same. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing...It’s just,” you paused, contemplating whether to continue or not, “I’m sorry…” 

“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong?” 

“I left the team, I left you. I was too scared to face my responsibilities, and I was too careless,” you said, as you rubbed your thumb into the palm of your hand nervously. 

You could hear your voice start to crack as you spoke but you tried to fight it. You couldn’t cry again, you were supposed to be an Avenger, one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, not some crybaby. But Bucky already knew how close to the edge you were and he showed it with just the sincere look of worry in his eyes. He leaned over and planted a kiss on your bare shoulder as he rested his head on your arm, holding your hand in cold grip. 

“You did what you thought was right, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said, the vibration from his voice moving through your shoulder and past your chest. 

“I shouldn’t have been so selfish, I should’ve thought of the team. I should’ve just followed orders,” you said, looking down at your fingers. 

You lifted up your vision as you felt Bucky move, and when your eyes locked with his, they showed disapproval. 

“No. Never just follow orders, don’t ever let anyone think for you. I know how that feels, and I never want something like that to happen to you. I don’t want that life for you,” he said, never losing eye contact. 

He was a dead soldier, he was a weapon, he was used, he was alone. You could see him make the connection of your words and his experiences in his eyes, and you could see the sadness that was brought with it. You tightened your grip around his hand as you looked at him, your face showing that you understood, but didn’t know what to say. He straightened his lips before laying back against the headboard next to you, letting out a sigh. There was a deep silence for several minutes, only the sound of your breathing filling the air. 

“Are you afraid of me?” You asked, not looking at your super soldier. 

“What? No, no of course not. Why would you ask that?” 

“I hurt you. I couldn’t control myself, and I hurt you. Just like the man and everyone else at the gala. All I can do is harm, and everyone knows it.”

“They are afraid of what they can’t understand. They didn’t understand the Winter Soldier and they don’t understand Plague. To some we’re unsung heroes, but to others we’re monsters created by the enemy. And it’s up to us to change that,” Bucky said, adjusting his seating against the wall. 

“What if I can’t control it again, what if it happens all over again?” 

You felt the mattress move as he lifted the sheets and got out of bed. You watched as the metallic man walked around to the other side of the bed and sat atop the sheets in front of you, his face directly facing yours. 

“We all have weaknesses, and sometimes it’s better to know and understand them than it is to avoid them. Even I have them. Now, I’m going to tell you something that I should’ve told you a lot sooner, something that not even Steve knows,” Bucky said, a shadow of grief fading over his face. 

You were silent as you watched him, looking intently at his facial expression as it changed. 

“When I was...the Winter Soldier...I did things that I cannot undo, things that I can only regret. But sometimes I would fight back, sometimes parts of Bucky would shine through, and make it...difficult...for Hydra. I was then that they developed a word, a off switch, something to shut me down. They would try to use it as little as possible, but there were a few times where they had to resort to it.”

Reaching over to your nightstand, Bucky grabbed a notebook and a pen before writing something down quickly and handing it over to you. 

“I trust you, and I want you to feel safe. If I ever do anything to hurt you, if I ever become the Winter Soldier again, I want you to use this. And just know, if you lose control again, I will do everything in my power to help you.” 

You took the notebook from his hand and held it closed in your own. You knew once you opened it, that word would forever be stuck in your head, that you would hold the Winter Soldier’s greatest weakness in your mind. But he trusted you with his secret like you trusted him with all of yours. Taking a deep breath you opened the cover of the notebook to reveal a single word quickly written out in Bucky’s messy handwriting. 

‘Sputnik.’


	23. Nightstand

“What does Sput-” you began, before being interrupted by a strong hand covering your mouth quickly. 

“No, it works even if I’m not,” Bucky began, before looking down with the kind of remorse that only his face could display, “...brainwashed. I’ll just drop straight to the floor and I’m not sure how long it would take for me to wake up after that,” Bucky said, removing his hand from your mouth. 

“Right. But Bucky, it won’t come to this,” you said, lifting the small piece of notebook paper in front of you, “I promise.” 

Bucky gave you a small smile before standing up, leaning over and placing a small kiss on your forehead as you sat cross legged on the bed. 

“We can never be sure. After everything that’s happened...I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he said before entering the bathroom opposite of your bed and shutting the door behind him. 

You sat on the bed for a few more minutes, looking down at the slip of paper in your hands, the sound of the shower being turned on interrupting you from your thoughts. You lifted your hands up to your face and rubbed it awake before slowly getting off of the mattress and stretching. You were never a morning person, and even more so after becoming what only your team would call, a superhero. But you would never call yourself a hero, you always felt like you were just an ordinary girl with unfortunate circumstances, and you would always remain that way. 

“That’s no way to think, is it?” you heard a familiar voice say from the wall next to the door. 

“Jesus Christ,” you gasped from under your breath, holding your chest as your heartbeat slowed down. 

“I never took you for a religious woman,” Loki said, beginning to pace around the room. 

“Everyone’s got to believe in something, don’t they?” you said, watching as he walked around the room, trying to keep your voice low so Bucky couldn’t hear. 

“You really shouldn’t preach what you don’t practice,” he said, stopping to face you with his arms behind his back. 

“I suppose not,” you said, looking down at your hands, a habit picked up after the gala, “Now, what do you want?” 

“To remind you of reality, to bring you back down to Earth as they say,” he said, walking past you, over to the window, looking down at the streets of New York City. 

“What do you mean,” you said, never letting your eyes leave the man draped in green, “I’ve got everything under control.”

“Oh, do you? So the constant checking of your hands, the nightmares, the way you hold your jaw so tightly, you’re afraid to break your teeth. That’s what you call “having it under control?” 

You were silent for a few moments, you knew that he was able to read and control minds, but you weren’t aware of how observant he would actually be. And it frustrated you to say the least. 

“Why do you care? Why are you so invested in my accounts, what are you possibly getting out of this?” you said, your bitter words lingering on your tongue. 

“You forget who gave you your power, who helped you escape from the clutches of your enemy, who showed you what you could do-”

“You made me into a monster, a monster you wanted to use for power, and entertainment,” you said, your voice growing. 

“Oh no, you did all that yourself. I merely only gave you a little push, you already had your powers, you just had them locked away. After the fire that is, after you couldn’t control it the first time. Have you never heard of what you mortals call mutants?”

“Of course I have. But you’re telling me that this has been happening to me my whole life? That’s a little far-fetched, don’t you think?” you said, crossing your arms in disbelief. 

“Only if you chose it to be. You had powers when you were younger, but after your family’s death, you repressed them , to the point where your forgot that you had them in the first place. I merely opened the door again. Now it’s up to you to hold the handle.”

You remember being told this back in the Hydra experimentation lab, but you never really thought about it again until now. You never knew how to control your powers, and you feared that you never will. 

“You want to know how to control it. I’m afraid that only you have the answer to that, and it’s up to you to figure it out. History always repeats itself, so I say you figure it out rather quickly,” he said, turning away from the window to face you. 

“You are really difficult to understand, you know that?” 

“So I’ve been told,” he replied, not making eye contact with you. 

“Well, why not just leave me alone? What does sharing this great Asgardian wisdom get you?” you said, repeating your early question.

“I want you to understand that everything's not alright. I want you to understand that you are still a danger, and that they still fear you. The soldier of winter knows his boundaries, he knows he is a danger. I suggest you understand that,” he said, walking over to your nightstand. 

You watched as he reached over towards the small slip of notebook paper resting atop your nightstand. Before his fingers made contact with it, you flung your hand out and a blast of energy shot out towards the paper, disintegrating it once it made contact, along with most of the nightstand. You quickly pulled your hand towards you and watched as the purple veins disappeared up your arm. 

“Remember, you made yourself the monster,” Loki said before disappearing into thin air. 

You felt a strong hand on your shoulder, causing you to quickly turn around your heart beating a mile a minute. You quickly came face to face with the often confused and concerned face of Bucky. 

“Y/n? Who were you talking to? And what happened to the nightstand?” he said, his wet hair dangling around his face. 

“Oh, nothing-I mean nobody. Jarvis just wanted to know if we wanted something to eat. I just told him we would go get something ourselves,” you said, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. 

“Oh, good. I don’t trust that Jarvis guy,” he said, looking around as if he was there to listen in. 

You tried to explain the idea of Jarvis being an artificial intelligence to Bucky about a dozen times, but he refused to remember it. He just chose to think that it was a man that Tony had hidden to make announcements over the intercom. And he was sure that he had it out for him. Although, frustrating, you always found this adorable. 

“Now, go dry your hair. You’re getting the floor all wet,” you said, flicking a dangling piece of wet hair into his face. 

As soon as you did that, you saw his face grow a smirk. And you knew that this meant that he was about to do something that you would hate, and you knew exactly what it was. Before you could run away he shook his head so that his hair flung in all sorts of different directions and the water splashed all over you. You screamed, causing him to grab you and hug you, his wet hair draping down your back. 

“UUggghh, why!” you said. 

You only got Bucky’s laughter as a response as you tried to pry him off of you. 

***  
A/N: I’m so sorry for the super long delay! I had to focus on college and graduating and stuff, so I wasn’t able to write. But I’m hoping to update more often now.   
Also, in regards to the last chapter, “Sputnik” was referenced as a shut off word developed by Hydra in the Winter Soldier comic books, and that’s where I got it from.


	24. Caviar and Privilege

You knew you had to train, you knew you needed to get things under control. Not only for yourself, but for the better of the team and anyone you would be around. And what better place to train the gym; that’s where everyone else trained, so it should work the same for you, right? While the rest of the team was out or busy with other endeavors, you made your way down to the gym, closing the door behind you so that you could have some privacy, which you knew wasn’t usually how the Stark tower worked, but you wanted to think otherwise. 

“Alright, how to start?” you said to yourself, looking around at the weights and bench presses that littered the room. 

“Perhaps I could be of some assistance?” said the same sly voice that never failed to send shivers up your spine. 

“Why do you keep doing that? You’re going to give me a heart attack!” you yelled as you laid eyes on Loki, the mischievous god that wouldn’t leave you alone. 

“Trust me, if I wanted that to happen, it would’ve long ago,” he said, in his usual cryptic tongue. 

You looked around the room, your eyes resting on the dozens of weights and exercise equipment that scattered the room. Bucky and Steve were usually the one that occupied this space, and it was strange to see it without them. Mainly because, the only reason you would ever come down here was if one of them dragged you, and you fought tooth and nail. 

“This is for me. I don’t need you breaking my concentration, or getting in my way. Now, I suggest you go busy yourself,” you said, not looking at the god as you rolled up your sleeves. 

“As you wish. This will be interesting,” he said before disappearing as quickly as he appeared. 

As soon as he vanished, you faced some weights on the rack and took a deep breath, before focusing on it and lifting your hands. As you focused you felt a familiar tug on your fingertips and noticed the weight begin to levitate and lift into the air. You started to smile with excitement as you moved it and placed it on the empty rack next to it. You continued this process over and over again until something broke your pattern. You were at the last rack and you started to lift it when you heard a soft voice say “boo” behind you. 

As soon as you heard that, you swiftly turned around and the weight dropped to the ground and a plasma blast shot out from your hands, barreling towards Loki. Before the blast made contact, he twisted his body so it would travel past him, shattering the mirror behind him. 

“And here I thought we were friends,” he said as small grin on his face.

“Why would you do that?! Look what you made me do!” you said in anger, pointing at the broken glass on the ground.

“I was getting bored. And it’s not your basic abilities that you need to practice, it’s understanding what else you’re capable of,” he said, pacing around you.

“Well, I’m pretty good at destroying Tony’s things from the looks of it,” you said, sitting on a bench.

You took a deep breath when you noticed that you could still feel your heart beating a million miles per minute in your chest from the trickster god’s successful attempt at scaring you. You closed your eyes and calmed your breath, and when you opened your eyes, you notice the purple veins retreating up your arms. 

“Power, in essence, is a continuation of a normal midguardian’s basic talents. Mutation is what makes you all thrive and survive, what put you on top of your pathetic food chain. And now, mutation is giving you higher advancements, you are ahead of your time. That’s what makes you all ‘super,’ as you like to say,” Loki said, watching your arm fade as well. 

“I swear everything that comes out of your mouth reeks of caviar and privilege,” you said, glaring at the god.

“You can be so difficult,” he began, sighing in disappointment, “what I was saying, to simplify it down to your level, is that your powers are mutated and enhanced version of a normal midguardian’s emotions.”

“Like, ‘you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,’ kind of stuff?” you asked, almost laughing at the image of what you would like with green skin and big beefcake muscles.

“In a sense, but on an internal level. Your emotions drive different aspects of your abilities. When I scared you, your fear manifested itself in the form of what you would call an “energy surge,” he said, gesturing to your hands. 

“My plasma blast?” 

“Sure, your plasma blast.” 

“Well, what does that mean for my other emotions?” you asked, not sure what to think of this whole situation. 

“Your emotions must be pure and immediate, they can’t be faked. So, I suppose you will have to wait and see what happens,” he said, turning away from you.   
“Oh no, I don’t think so. I came down here to practice, and now you’re telling me to just go back to living in fear? You said you were going to help me, so help me,” you said, feeling your face heat up. 

“You seem to have things under control, just try to aim for some more furniture, it’d be a shame to hit one of your precious teammates,” he said, walking away.


	25. Chest Cavity

You wanted to yell as you felt your blood bubble under your skin and your fists clench. Before you knew it, the treadmill that stood next to where Loki was walking burst into flames, causing him to look back at you with a sly smile on his face. You quickly looked down at your hands and noticed the veins again. 

“Ah, that’s more like it,” Loki said, turning to face you again.

You spent most of the afternoon practicing controlling your emotions, how they affected your powers, and how to let go. It took dozens of failures before you were able to calmly light a candle and it left most of the walls and even some of the equipment charred. You tried your best to think through all of your different emotions, but there was something missing, something on the tip of your tongue. Then it finally hit you.

Glancing around the room, you spotted Loki looking at himself in the mirror, and a thought shot into your mind, one that you weren’t too comfortable with. He was the god of mischief and illusion, and he’s shown you things that you didn’t necessarily wanted to see before, so what would be so different now. 

“I need your help,” you said, facing Loki. 

“That’s a first.”

“I’m serious, there’s one last power I need to figure out, and you’re the only way I can figure it out without hurting anyone,” you said, a certain deadness in your eyes, that he was able to detect. 

“You wish to know sorrow? I shall show you sorrow. But, don’t forget, you asked for this,” he said before disappearing into thin air. 

Immediately, the atmosphere changed to dark and dusky, leaving a sense of dread in your chest cavity. Your sense of reality and memories completely left your body, leaving you only with a sense of confusion and loneliness, not understanding that this was an illusion. You looked around for any sense of light, only to be led deeper into the darkness. As you stepped, you noticed the ground becoming more difficult to walk on, with broken concrete laying in different directions. But it wasn’t until something stopped your foot, that you fell forward. 

Looking back, you saw a pale hand jutting out from under a large slab of concrete, causing you to rush towards it. You tried to focus on lifting the concrete mentally, but nothing happened, causing you to resort to physically strength which didn’t help much either. Eventually you gave up and reminded yourself that the person was dead, and your efforts were useless. You continued your journey forward, but the deeper you went, the harder it was to breathe, causing you to cough and stumble forward. You looked down as you tried to walk straight, locking eyes with the cold dead bodies that littered the concrete, all covered in a layer of dust and debris. 

You were horrified, you almost couldn’t breath, and your legs felt like jelly. But something was pulling you forward, and you couldn’t stop, your body wouldn’t let you stop. Continuing forward, you avoided stepping on the bodies as much as possible as well as moving quickly. But the number of bodies just grew more and more, causing more strain as you walked over them. With each step, the sense of dread and despair filled your lungs, and with each step you felt more and more alone. Looking up, you began to notice the silhouettes of buildings and street lights through the thick grey fog that filled the air. This city was killed, how was what you could only assume was what you were there to find out. 

It wasn’t until you reached the giant crater in the ground, that you knew you had arrived to where you were supposed to be. The fog was still too thick to be able to see five feet ahead of you, so you cautiously walked down the crater to where you saw no bodies, until you reached the center. You wanted to scream, to cry out, but your body wouldn’t allow it, instead you only stared at them, tears rushing down your face. Six bodies laid within the pit, four tossed in separate directions and two in the center. 

Sam, Steve, Tony, Natasha, Clint, and two other bodies. You stumbled forward, desperately needing to find out who the two figures were. When you could finally see, you dropped to your knees, and you hands shot up, covering your mouth. 

There, rested the cold, grey face of Bucky, his arms wrapped around your own body, lying limp in the rubble. There in the center of the pit laid your friends, your family, your team, and your own body lying in the center of it, glowing a bright violet. You did this. It was all your fault.


	26. Decay

There was the sound of a snap before you were out of your trance, but the room didn’t look the same at all. You looked down at your hands to find them covered in a thick black substance, as well as the veins leading up to them and the room that surrounded you. You found yourself sitting on your knees, the ground beneath you developed a thick black ink and it traveled outwards, climbing up the equipment and the walls of the gym. You watched, the tears not yet off your face, as the equipment began to crumble and disintegrate as the black substance covered it. You tried to get up, you tried to move but the substance wouldn’t let you. It held both your legs and hands tight in its grip. 

Watching, you saw it travel on to the ceiling as it began to eat away at the lights and drywall. You panicked and shut your eyes, trying to focus on controlling it, but when you opened your eyes, it didn’t stop. Drywall and electrical wires began to decay as you struggled to get up. Looking up, you saw the ceiling begin to cave in, and the rotting black liquid dripping above you. You heard cracking and moaning of the support beams before it finally broke loose and fell. You tightly shut your eyes, preparing to be hit from above, but instead you felt a strong force grab and pull you from the side in the other direction. 

You kept your eyes closed for a few moments, hoping that when you opened them, it was all just a bad dream. When you finally did open them, you found Bucky’s arms wrapped around you, as you both lay on the ground of the hallway, just out of range of the collapsed ceiling. Looking around, you noticed the lack of black ink and the destroyed equipment that lay underneath the ceiling. You thought it could’ve been a dream, before you looked down at your forearms and noticed the black liquid receding back through your veins. You were broken out of your concentration by a muffled voice of Bucky as he came into focus in front of you. 

“Y/n? What just happened? We heard you screaming and then we came down to see the entire gym covered in....What happened?” Bucky said, panic in his voice as he held your face and brushed your hair out of your face. 

Before you could answer you heard footsteps running towards you, causing you to turn around and face Tony and Steve as they stopped. Steve looked at the two of you with concern, but relaxed once he saw that you both were ok. Tony, on the other hand, had only one comment on the matter. 

“My gym!” 

You sat up after Bucky stood, and tried to do the same but your legs felt like jelly and you almost fell before Bucky caught you. 

“Woah, are you alright?” he asked, holding you steady. 

“Y-yeah, I’m f-fine…” you said through shaky breath. 

Just as you finished your sentence, you all heard a cracking noise and looked up to find the ceiling begin to crumble. 

“The support beams were destroyed, this whole level is going to get real interesting real quickly,” Tony said, slowly backing up. 

“Then, I suggest we get going,” Steve said, gesturing for you all to move forward. 

You were about to try and gather your strength to run forward, but before you could, something lifted you off the ground. You looked up as Bucky ran with you in his arms, and as the ceiling began to collapse behind you. Tony was the first one in the elevator, followed by Steve and then finally you and Bucky before the doors closed, keeping out the cloud of dust kicked up as the drywall and layers of metal fell to the floor.   
“Well, good thing I had those backup supports installed. Otherwise this whole building would be tumbling down,” Tony said as you all stood in the elevator. 

After a quick trip up, you all shuffled out of the elevator and into the main level that held the bar. Walking out, you finally felt your vision return as well as your strength, but Bucky still held you in his arms. 

“Um... you can let me down now,” you said, looking up to him. 

“Oh, right,” he said carefully putting your down, his face slightly red. 

“Ok, explanation time. What the hell happened down there?” Tony asked pouring two glasses of whiskey, giving one to you, and one for himself. 

You made your way over to the bar and placed the glass down as you took a seat. As you rested for a moment, the three men stood behind the bar, waiting for you to tell your story. 

“I was training, and things got a little out of hand,” you said, not looking up at them. 

“Out of hand. A whole level of my building was destroyed,” Tony said. 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Steve said, before receiving a glare from Tony. 

“I’m sorry about your gym, Tony,” you apologised, looking up at him, your eyes still red and swollen from the incident. 

“Ah,” he began, changing his tune as soon as he made eye contact with you, “it’s alright. I never liked the style of it really, too old-fashioned.”   
“Well, how exactly did things get out of hand, y/n?” Steve asked, his method of interrogation, a lot sweeter. 

“I discovered something new, something about my powers. Apparently, they’re driven off emotion, and each one has a different effect. When I’m scared, there’s an energy surge, fire when I’m angry, and when I’m…upset...” you trailed off. 

“That black ink…” Bucky finished for you, not taking his eyes off of you. 

“Ok, but what caused that? I mean, I don’t think being upset over dead puppies would do something like that,” said Tony. 

In response, he got disapproving glares from both Steve and Bucky, and retorted with a “what?” glance. 

“I had a vision,” you began, “a vision...of a fire. A fire that killed a lot of people,” you said, glancing up at them, to see if they actually believed you. 

But as soon as you laid eyes on Bucky, you knew that he knew that you were lying. So you quickly looked away and, looked down at your untouched drink. 

“Alright, well, I don’t know about you guys, but I need some sleep,” Tony said, leaving his drink on the counter and walking out of the room, towards the elevator. 

Steve said goodnight to the two of you before walking out of the room. You were then left alone with Bucky and a glass of whiskey. You thought he was going to make you tell him what you really saw, but instead he gave you a gentle smile and leaned over the bar to plant a kiss on your forehead. You smiled back at him before leaving the glass on the bar and walking out of the room, Bucky’s hand in yours.


	27. Standard Lady Hands

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the vision from last night out of your head, and you had plenty of nightmares that night to remind you. The next day, you spent most of it alone, and no one really seemed to notice, that was until Bucky found you. The maintenance level wasn’t the most ideal place for someone to be, which is why you chose it as your secret place to get some alone time. There was a little space underneath a walkway, where you sat, it was tall enough so that you could sit up straight. You sat there, your arms holding your legs close to your chest, you back leaning against whatever sat behind you, and your chin resting on your knees. You felt like you were sitting there for about half an hour before you heard the door open and heavy footsteps walk in. 

“Y/n? Y/n? Are you in here?” you heard Bucky say.

You didn’t respond, and you partially hoped that he would just leave. Normally, you would immediately get up and go tell him everything was alright, but you didn’t have enough energy and didn’t feel like lying again. Instead you just looked back down at the concrete ground, listening to his footsteps as he got closer. Finally when you heard him walk above you, you took a deep breath and prepared a smile. 

“Y/n? What are you doing down there?” Bucky said, once he spotted you through the grates in the floor. 

“Oh, just...clearing my head, you know…” you said, not sounding as positive as you originally planned to. 

Looking up, you saw him hop over the railing of the low catwalk and slid down to the area where you sat, joining you as you scooted over. He rested next to you, leaning his back against the same metallic structure behind you both. You both sat in silence for several minutes before Bucky finally turned to face you, planting a hand on your shoulder. 

“I know it hasn’t been the easiest time for you. You don’t feel like you’re in control, you don’t think you know what you’re doing. But you need to talk to us, we want to help you, we want you to be able to trust us,” he said, his face holding a sympathetic look. 

“I do trust you, it’s just...I feel like a burden, I feel like I get in the way...I can’t even cry without disintegrating an entire floor. I’m too dangerous.” 

“You’re only as dangerous as you believe to be. You’re seeing your power as something outside of yourself, something you cannot control. I felt the same way, when I was the Winter Soldier I only felt grief and sorrow for all those things that I did to those people and their families. But...then you showed me...you showed me that wasn’t who I was, that I wasn’t the Winter Soldier. And when everyone expected me to be Bucky Barnes, you didn’t, you gave me a second chance. And I want to do the same for you.” 

You looked into his icy blue eyes as he spoke. They glistened in a way that you knew he was telling the truth, that you knew he was being sincere. After everything that’s happened, he never failed to make you feel human again. And for that, you could never fully repay him.

“Thank you,” you said, giving him a small smile. 

“No problem, now let’s get you out of this weird hiding hole,” he said, crawling out from under the walkway and holding his hand for you to take.   
As soon as you took his hand and crawled out, a familiar voice shouted over the intercom. 

“Hey, Y/n, get up here to the...suit room...I’ve got something for you. I need to come up with a better name for that room,” Tony said, whispering the latter to himself. 

You both looked at each other before smiling and walking out of the room towards the elevator. Tony’s suit room was one of the higher levels so the ride up took a little longer than expected, but as soon as the doors opened Tony was instantly standing there, causing you to jump back in surprise. 

“Y/n, perfect. Follow me, I have a present for you,” Tony said, leading you to the ‘suit room.’ 

You and Bucky looked at each other before following him down the hallway, lit up by the windows overlooking the city. Two tinted glass doors opened to reveal the smaller metallic room that held the suits of the Avengers, all except Tony’s which he kept in its own room. You looked around to see the superhero costumes put up for display, Steve’s classic red white in blue, Sam’s wings, Natasha’s black suit with electric accents and even Clint’s bow and arrows. You looked around some more and you spotted another display, containing a black jacket with a missing left sleeve and surrounded by a variety of weapons. Everyone had their little outfits and weapons on display, even the mysterious Winter Soldier. You smirked as you glanced over at Bucky, and he gave you a glare that said something along the lines of “shut up.” 

“Alright, I’ve been working on these all day and i think they’re finally ready for some testing,” Tony said, holding something behind his back. 

He gestured you to shut your eyes before he placed an item into each hand. They felt a little heavy, not cap’s shield heavy, but heavy enough to know that you were holding something important. You finally opened your eyes and glanced down at the items that were placed in your hands. They were two black fingerless gloves, the main part only reached up to your wrist, with wires attached, and some sort of reactor in the center of each palm. 

“You like ‘em? Here, let’s try them on so you can get the full feel,” Tony said, as he took the gloves from your hands. 

He gestured for you to hold your hands out before he slipped the nylon and metal over your fingers, tugging on the end to make sure they were on tightly. There were two sets of wires that hung off the ends, one that tony attached to your wrist and clamped it down with a bracelet looking device, the next he did the same but to your upper arm, under your bicep. The same was done to the other arm before Tony stepped back, allowing you to get a feel for your new toys. 

“Oh good, they fit. I kinda forgot to take your measurements, so I just made them for standard lady hands. And congratulations, you have standard lady hands,” he said, crossing his arms, his face full of pride for his work. 

You smirked as you looked down at your hands, clenching your fists and moving your fingers so they could get more room. Although it wasn’t a full suit like everyone else had, you still felt like a badass. 

“Yeah, they’re pretty sweet,” you said, smiling. 

“Good, good. Alright, let's head down to the range, and I’ll explain what they do on the way.”   
You and Tony headed straight for the elevator in excitement as Bucky tried to catch up from behind. 

“Alright, these wires here, they tap into your nervous system through a series of neurological pathways,” he said, lifting up the wires that connected to your biceps, “from what you told us about your powers and from my own observations, your arms is where the main control is, so these help to control the volume in a way.” 

“So they help me control what I usually can’t,” you said, summarizing his sentences. 

“Yeah, to put things in simpler terms. And these doodads here,” he said, flipping your hands over to reveal the reactors in your palms, “are there to help you focus and aim your...blasts...do you call them blasts?”

“Blasts or surges,” you said. 

“Right, so they focus the energy from your nervous system and pushes it out, like a bullet, but with a lot less kickback.” 

“And what about these?” you asked, pointing to the wires attached your your wrists. 

“Those, are for reading your vitals, and your emotions. If what you tell us is true, then these gloves should interpret the energy you put through them and guide them through.” 

The three of you finally made it to the shooting range, just as Tony finished explaining. You walked up to face one of the targets and held your hands out, causing Tony to quickly jump back. It was clear that he didn’t fully trust you with them. 

“Oh, well, first you have to turn them on,” he said, quickly clicking a button on the side of your wrist. 

You immediately heard the small buzzing sound that usually comes from something electrical and smiled. You had the kind of adrenaline rush that someone would have before firing a gun, a mix of nerves and excitement. You shut your eyes and focused, before quickly opening your eyes and a blast of purple energy flew forward, shooting the head of the dummy clean off. You laughed in excitement, turning around to face Bucky and Tony, who jumped back and lifted their hands up, yelling at you to watch where you pointed them. 

“Oh right, sorry!” you yelled, as you quickly pushed the same button that turned them on and the electricity left the air. 

“There you all are,” Steve said, walking in the room with a set of files in hand, “we’ve got something.” 

“Do share, Miss America,” Tony said, crossing his arms. 

“I just got off the phone with the director, he faxed these over,” Steve said, after giving Tony a glare for his childish nicknames, “we’ve got a mission.” 

He handed the three of you each a folder, each containing the same information, the same information for Lithuania. You looked through before glancing over at Bucky, who had a grim look on his face. 

“Shield has been informed of a possible Hydra base, about 300 miles north of Vilnius, and they want us to investigate,” Steve said, his voice filled with the demanding tone of Captain America. 

“Alright, the perfect place to test out your new toys. Come on team, let’s suit up,” Tony said, glancing at Steve as if to shove in his face that he stole his line.


	28. If You Have To

It only took the team about 10 minutes to prepare before you, Bucky, Steve, and Tony all waited outside of the jet. 

“What the shit happened to your gym, Tony?!” Clint asked as he walked up to the jet, followed by Sam. 

They both had already suited up, which gave you the sense that Tony texted them both as soon as he got the details. When he wanted to, Tony could be really on top of things and in control. Which is why he never really was. 

“We’ll explain to you on the ride over, we need to get moving,” Steve said, gesturing for you all to get on the jet. 

***

“So, black ink...came out of your hands? And disintegrated an entire floor?” Sam asked after you told him and Clint the story of how you destroyed a whole level of Tony’s building. 

Tony opted to fly the jet, mostly due to the fact that he didn’t really trust anyone of you to touch his stuff. Especially his stuff in the sky. Behind the main controls, rested a small area that the team was allowed to walk about in, but for the time being, you all sat on the benches that aligned the walls. Clint and Sam sat across from you and Bucky, their gesture showing intrigue, while Steve rested his legs up next to you, laying his back against one of the walls to get a better sketching position. 

“Umm...yeah, so Tony made me these,” you said, lifting your hands up to show them your new gloves. 

“Tony, how come you don’t make us any toys?!” Clint yelled. 

“Because, you guys don’t destroy my stuff,” Tony yelled back from the pilot's chair. 

“Well, guess what we’re doing when we get back,” Clint whispered to Sam, holding his hand out to fistbump, only to be shut down by a glare from Steve who sat reading a few feet away. 

You all spent most of your time chatting before it started to get dark, causing Clint to pass out almost immediately, and for Sam to be absorbed into his headphones. You glanced over to Steve who remained focused in his sketchbook, his eyebrows burrowed to show his concentration. You glanced down at you hands to have a look at Tony’s handy work, and so far you were impressed. They felt so natural to you, that you almost forgot you had them on, and really had no intention of taking them off until you landed at least. The thought of your powers getting the better of you while in a machine in the sky caused you to shudder slightly before you pushed it out of your mind. 

You sighed and leaned you head against the wall, looking up at the metal ceiling, the space was silent, except the faint sound of the aircraft’s engines and Sam’s headphones playing what sounded like jazz. You looked over to your right and spotted Bucky resting his cheek on his fist, his face covered in a mix of dread and seriousness. You, not-so-subtly, leaned over and placed your head on his shoulder, but he remained stiff, showing how tense he really was.   
“Hey, so I know brooding is kind of your thing, but this is a bit much,” you said, looking up at him as he stared into space. 

“Huh?” he began, snapping out of his trance, “Oh, yeah. I’m just tired.” 

“Tired? I’ve seen you when you’re tired, unless you are about to go into a coma, I suggest you start talking,” you said, using a stern tone that you rarely had to use. 

It took him a moment to contemplate what he was going to say, and how he was going to say it. But once he did figure it out, he glanced over at you, your head still resting on his shoulder. 

“We’re about to dive, nose-first, into a Hydra headquarters. A place where the...monsters...that made me like them, thrive. I escaped, you helped me escape. But if they ever get their hands on me again,...their project...I need you to get as far from there as possible. I can’t risk anything happening to you,” he said, moving his gaze away from you as he spoke. 

You took his words into consideration for a moment, registering everything he was saying. 

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“And if you have to use the word…” he begun, before you placed your hand on his arm and sat up. 

“It’s not going to come to that, nothing is going to happen to you. I promise,” you said, looking him dead in the eye. 

He stared at you for a few moments, almost as if he was studying your face, before you felt his muscles relax and his shoulders dip. 

“Thank you.” 

You nodded and adjusted yourself so you could rest your head on his lap as he layed back, his head resting on the steel wall. 

***

“Wakey, wakey! Eggs and bakey, everyone!” you heard Tony shout as he hit his fist on the metallic walls, causing both you and Bucky to jump. 

“We’re about to land. Everyone, suit up,” Steve said with the usual pride that he had commanding his team. 

It didn’t take long for everyone to get suited up, given that most of you had your suits on when boarding the jet. You had borrowed a simple S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform from the jet so you wouldn't be busting in wearing jeans and a jacket. Once you suited up you adjusted your gloves and stepped back into the main hub of the jet. As soon as Bucky spotted you, he gave you a whistle, causing you to blush and shoot him a glare. But he just smirked and looked away, making sure he had his arsenal prepared. 

“Alright, get ready for some turbulence, and we're going to be covert. So everyone...be covert,” Tony yelled from the cockpit. 

As the jet began to shake, you all stood and held onto the handles hanging above you. When you felt the aircraft touch the ground, you finally felt your nerves get to you. You have been out on missions before, but nothing to this degree. You were waltzing into a major headquarters of the most dangerous organization S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever faced. And who was bent destroying you and your team. You felt yourself get a cold sweat, quickly looking down at your hands, checking for any activity. Thankfully, nervousness wasn’t one of your major emotions. 

“You’re going to be fine. Just stick with me,” Bucky said from behind you, once he noticed you checking your hands. 

You took a deep breath and looked back at him, giving him a look of nervousness before looking forward again. You all stood at the door, anxiously waiting for it to open. Looking around, you saw everyone standing next to you. Sam in his signature red goggles, Clint adjusting his quiver, Steve clipping his shield onto his back, Tony closing his helmet, and Bucky, holding his machine gun, twisting a silencer onto the nozzle. Looking at them gave you a kind of pride, a sense that you were part of something bigger, something that was meant to do good. 

You were a hero. You were an Avenger.


	29. Now That I Have Your Attention

The massive door opened to the outside world, slowly letting the snow and freezing air in, showing the true nature of a Lithuanian winter. You were just glad that you grabbed the thickest version of your uniform, and a jacket on top, just in case. Steve was the first one out, cautiously looking around to make sure the coast was clear, waving for us to follow. You all stepped out of the vessel, everyone keeping their weapons out in defense, just to be careful. 

“Alright, there is a secret entrance just about a mile from here,” Steve began, turning to face his team, “We’re going to split up once we get inside. Our mission is to get in, get what we came for, and get out. Sam is with me, Tony with Clint, and Y/n goes with Bucky. Understood?” 

“Roger that Captain!” Tony said, sarcastically saluting him, causing him to get a glare in return. 

“Right, let’s move out,” Steve said, taking his shield off his back and jogging forward, followed by you and the rest of the team. 

It was freezing, and when you found the entrance, you were almost thankful because it meant you would be out of the snow. The “secret entrance” wasn’t anything special, in fact, it looked especially normal. Which, in a way, made it secret. It looked like a manhole cover that Steve twisted open without breaking a sweat, carefully placing it on the snow. He dropped down and stayed still, looking out for anyone coming this way. Once he declared that the coast was clear, he gestured for you all to follow. Bucky was the last one in as he closed the manhole behind you all, making sure there was no evidence that anyone had just broken into their base. 

You all walked forward, weapons out, prepared for anything. As you proceeded, you heard two Hydra agents about to reach your hallway ahead of you. Almost immediately, Steve quickly moved up, followed by Bucky who moved past you, holding his rifle up. Quickly as the man rounded the corner, Steve quickly used the edge of his shield to knock out one guard, just as the other was about to reach for his walkie talkie, a single bullet entered his forehead, causing him to drop to the ground. Sometimes you forgot that Bucky was a sniper for the military, and his skill never ceased to amaze you. 

You and Sam moved the bodies out of sight, and joined the rest of the team as they continued forward. That was until you all reached a fork in the road. Three different hallways, which meant it was time to split up. Sam and Steve, Tony and Clint, and you and Bucky. 

“Hold up, almost forgot,” Tony said, gesturing for you all to stay, “take these, just tap it to call in to the rest of us.” 

He placed a small earpiece into each of your hands, gesturing you all to put them in your right ear. You glanced over to Bucky who had a sour look on his face when you noticed him trying to force it into his ear, and failing miserably. You almost giggled when you took it from him and gestured for him to lean towards you. You tucked his hair behind his ear and gently placed the device in, making sure that it was nice and snug. Once it was in, he glanced over to you with a smirk, giving you a quick wink. You just smiled and looked away in embarrassment. 

“Alright, let’s split up,” Steve said as he and Sam went down the left hallway. 

You and Bucky quickly sped down the furthest hallway, keeping your footsteps light as you checked every corner. 

“What are we looking for anyways?” You whispered, kneeling behind Bucky as he checked the corner. 

“You didn’t read the file Steve gave us?” He asked as you both passed the open space. 

You shook your head.

“Me neither. Steve mentioned it was a chip that Hydra had acquired with information regarding the Avengers protocol. Stuff that even we don’t know about.” 

“Well, I guess it would be in everyone's best interest to get that back then.”

“Agreed.”

You both continued down the hallway, watching your surroundings carefully, that was until one of them caught you by surprise. Just as you were passing a small break in the wall you felt something wrap around your throat, pulling you back. Instantly, Bucky turned around and raised his gun, but not shooting because the man was using you as a human shield. His grip around the wire that wrapped around your throat was too tight to slip out of, so that meant it was time to do some testing. You released your grasp from the wire and grabbed the man's head from behind, and you slowly felt his grasp weaken before he collapsed on the ground. 

You tore the wire from your throat and turned around to see the man's body collapsed on the ground, his eyes milky and his veins protruding from his face. It didn't take a doctor to acknowledge that he was dead. You stared a little too long, causing Bucky to grab your shoulder. 

“Hey, are you alright?” He said, knowing you were fine from the attack, it's what followed after that he worried about. 

“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Let's just keep going,” you said, brushing past him as you continued down the hall. 

As you snuck down the corridors, Bucky stuck behind you, his rifle held up to cover your other sides while you covered the front. Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of alarms ringing off the walls as red lights flashed. 

“Well, shit…” You said, getting into a stance, preparing for company. 

“My best guess would be Tony,” Bucky said, a certain bitterness in his voice. 

“It is a bit hard to sneak around in a full suit of armor.” 

You both watched the ends of the hallway, you knew they were coming, you knew they would have guns. As you both stood in anticipation, looking in opposite directions, you heard a loud clank of metal, causing you both to spin around. A large metal door closed, separating you and Bucky between the hallway, no glass to be able see each other. 

“Y/n!?” You heard Bucky's voice echo through the metal as his fist banged against it. 

“I'm fine! Just give me a minute to figure this out!” You said, turning around to face the door. 

You concentrated on the metal, trying to bend, break or even melt it, but you found it was taking too long. The sound of a bullet shooting past your head broke you out of your concentration, causing you the twirl around and shoot your hand up. As soon as your palm faced the hydra agents standing behind you, a plasma charge shot out and caused a wave, throwing bodies against the walls, knocking most of them unconscious. As a few started to get up again, causing you to have give them your full attention.


	30. Sympathize

As you threw your hands forward, blasting, grabbing, and throwing you began to hear gunshots come from the other side of the door. You would worry if it wasn't for the continuous single shot coming from his rifle every few seconds, and your sense that he knew how to handle himself. You had tried to call in for backup but the earpieces that Tony made were just giving you static. So in other words, they were completely useless. The agents began to get closer and closer, causing you to press yourself against the metal door, holding your hands out in front of you to shield yourself from the bullets.

“Well, this looks like it's going well,” you heard the voice of the person you were least willing to see at this moment. 

You glanced over to your left where the lanky God of Mischief leaned against the wall, staring at your situation, with the same stupid smirk on his face. 

“Wow. What great lesson are you going to teach me now?” you said, clearly showing your disinterest with him being there. 

“I’m just here to tell you how much of a moron you are being,” he said, beginning to get up. 

“Great. Just what I want to hear right now.” 

The agents got closer and closer and soon it was going to be really difficult to block all those bullets with one is in your skull. Sweat dripped from your forehead and you felt yourself weaken, you were putting out too much energy. You need to end this. Fast.

“What I mean is-” he was interrupted by the sound of a single bullet breaking through your shield and landing in the wall behind you, “Need a hand?” 

In a blink of an eye, a green blast shot towards one of the closest agents and sent him flying into the wall on the opposite side. Then Loki quickly disappeared, only to reappear a few feet away, grabbing a hold of one of the men's head and snapping it back. After snapping out of your amazement, you focused on the two men that were left. While they were distracted, you quickly grabbed the first man's arm, his face suddenly shocked as your poison shot through his veins. The second noticed your sudden aggression and aimed towards you, but before a bullet could get past, you used the first man’s body as a shield. As he shot though his ally, you pressed your hand against the man’s back and focused all your energy, causing his body to rocket forward into the other man, before his body disintegrated into black ink and vaporized the man below him. You quickly turned around, expecting more bullets, but you only saw Loki, standing over the dead agents. 

“Careful who you aim those at,” he said, dusting his hands off as he stepped over a body. 

“Why are you helping me? I don’t understand, and I can’t help but feel that you have other intentions,” you said, trying to catch your breath. 

“Fine. I am not known for it, but I will be honest. Just this once,” he said, his sly smile disappearing and a more stern look on his face.

He didn’t look you in the eye as he spoke, which meant he didn’t need to be sure if you believed him or not. Only giving you the more reason to. 

“I know I haven’t been the most, beneficial...But after seeing you lost, frightened, alone...I couldn’t help but sympathize.” 

“Pfft, you? Sympathize? Don’t patronize me,” you said, clearly not accepting his words. 

“This mistrust is not without merit. I am simply saying that I, see much of myself in you,” he said with a face that showed how sour those words tasted. 

You wanted to scream at him that you were nothing like him. That all he’s done was harm you and your team. But, you just stood, thinking. Were you like him? Has he ever felt what you have? A million questions burned in your mind but you just stood and listened. 

“And since I know this, I know you are going to be hurt. Because when you trust too much, betrayal and heartbreak is baited forth.” 

“No, I am not you. Whatever happened to you, is not going to happen to me.” 

“As you wish, but I will return when you open your eyes. You should also check on your ‘soldier of winter’, he seems to be having some trouble,” he said before disappearing into thin air. 

You quickly turned around to face the metal door, kneeling in front of it. You pressed your palms against the metal, concentrating. Soon the metal began to heat up and eventually melt, causing it to cave in and eventually break open. You quickly pushed through the small opening and looked around the hallway. The floor was littered with bodies, either with sizable bruises or bulletholes in their foreheads. You panicked and scanned the ground, but you didn’t recognize any of their faces. Part of you was relieved but part of you knew everything was not right. He was gone. 

“Bucky?!” You yelled, running down the hallway. 

“Y/N!” You heard his voice yell, echoing off the metallic walls.


	31. Not the Man You Knew

Your boots slammed against the floor as you sped down the hall, turning corners until you could hear his voice again. Finally, you spotted him, lying on the floor in a room at the end, his hair dangling over his face. 

“Bucky!” You screamed, running towards him.

“No, y/n, wait!” he said through strained breath.

But it was too late, as soon as you made it through the doorway you immediately dropped to your knees. The room was emitting a severe ringing noise that pierced through the air like a knife, and cut into your mind. You barely noticed the door slamming shut behind you as you clenched your head with your hands, trying not to scream. You felt everything vibrate as you dug your nails into your skull in order to get some sense of grounding. Bucky was doing the same, only with his fists clenched on the floor as he sat on his knees. After a few more minutes the ringing finally came to a halt, causing the both of you to collapse with relief, you more than Bucky. 

“Y/n!” Bucky yelled, quickly crawling over to you, his hands instinctively cupping your face so that he could see your eyes.

“Hurt, didn’t it, Ms. Y/n? It was especially designed for you, my dear,” You heard an unfamiliar voice say from above. 

“LET US GO!” Bucky screamed up at the men who looked down at us from the glass window about 7 feet up. 

“Now, Sergeant Barnes. No need for such aggression,” a german voice said. 

You struggled to get up, but once you did, you could still faintly hear the ringing noise in your head. You looked around the empty room, lined in metal from wall to wall, almost like a futuristic prison cell. You looked up at the men, a deadly glare in your eyes before turning around to run to the door. You pressed your hands against the door, maybe you could do the same thing you did to the door before. But as soon as you began to focus on the door, the ringing returned, only this times, ten times worse. 

“STOP IT!” Bucky demanded, screaming at the men through the noise. 

“You are in no positions to be making demands, Sergeant Barnes. Now, if you both will just listen, we have a proposition for you,” the german man said. 

You both looked at each other, because you both knew it wasn’t going to be in either of your best interests. 

“Ever since you left, Sergeant Barnes, we’ve been observing you and your little...friend. Quite the piece of work she has become…” the other man said. 

You quickly held Bucky’s arm as he tensed up, wanting to attack the men who were just out of reach. It looked like they had taken all his weapons, leaving him only with his fists, which were equally as terrifying. 

“Now, we are going to strike you a deal. Only one of you are free to leave, and the other, stays with us. Winter Soldier or the infamous Plague. Your choice. One of you walks out of here free or you both die,” the german man said, a sly tone in his voice. 

You glanced over at Bucky who had a grim look on his face, and you knew exactly what he was thinking. He was going to give himself up so you could go free, and he was incredibly thick if he really thought you were going to let that happen. 

“NO!” You screamed up at them, “We are both walking out of here. Alive!” 

“Fine. We didn’t have to resort to this but,” the man paused, “you leave us no choice.” 

“Желание.”

Immediately you saw Bucky’s whole body tense, his eyes widen, and he immediately felt colder as you hand rested on his arm. 

“Ржавый.” 

Bucky quickly turned around to face you, his face in full panic and his face pale as a ghost. 

“What’s going on?” You said, your voice showing the beginning of your own worry. 

“Семнадцать.”

“Y-you need to get out of here. It’s not safe, not with me here,” he said, his hands grabbing you by the shoulders, his hands felt stiff and scared.

“Рассвет, печь, девять.” 

“What? What are you talking about?” 

“Добрoсердечный.” 

“I don’t care what you’re going to have to do, I need you get out of here. Alive. Just...please, promise me that.” 

“Возвращение Ha Родину.” 

“I promise that we are both going to get out of here,” you said, a stern look on your face. 

“Один.” 

“Y-you have to let...them take me…” he said, dipping his head down, his hair falling over his face. 

“Грузовой вагон.” 

As soon as the final word was spoken, Bucky’s entire stature changed. His expression went from being scared to being lifeless and his body language stiffened. His jaw clenched and his knuckles turned white as he stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with you anymore. His crystal blue eyes dulled, his soft lips thinned and his eyebrows burrowed into a serious scoul. You knew that whoever this was, whoever this man that looked like Bucky had become, was not the man you knew. He was not the man you loved.

“Bucky?” 

(A/n: I’m sorry if the Russian sucks, I really don’t know the first thing about the language so I had to use the resources of Russians on the internet. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments! I hope you are all enjoying the story!)


	32. Broken Promises

“Солдат?” The German asked. 

There was a pause before Bucky finally opened his mouth, but only enough to let the words escape. 

“Готовы соблюдать.”

You stared at him, but he didn’t stare back. His focus seemed blurred and his eyes looked blank and lifeless, leaving you in the empty room with the empty shell of Russia’s deadliest assassin. You were terrified, to be putting it lightly. 

“That’s better,” the German began, glaring through the window above, “now, I am going to give you one last chance to consider our offer. We are being incredibly generous.” 

You didn’t respond, you only kept your eyes on the Winter Soldier, afraid that if you moved even the slightest, he would sense your presence. After a few moments of silence, you heard a sigh of disappointment. 

“Oh well, you would have been a valuable asset,” the German said, pausing as he pushed up his round glasses, “солдат, убить еe. (soldier, kill her.)”

You instantly stepped back as his head turned to face you, his next target, his mission. And the Winter Soldier always completed his missions. His face showed no remorse, no second thoughts, he was just a machine now.   
“Bucky, wait, you don’t have to do this,” you said, trying to remain calm. 

No response, of course, what were you expecting? You quickly lifted your finger up to your ear and tapped the earpiece. 

“Steve, Tony. They got Bucky. They reactivated the Winter Soldier. It was a trap, you have to hurry. We’re in the west wing,” you said calmly into the static that rung in your ear, worried that if you panicked it would set him off even more.

You had no idea if they could hear you, but right now, all you could really do was hope. You just had to hold off long enough until the team could reach you, if they were coming at all.

You turned your focus back onto Bucky who was beginning to walk towards you, his body language a lot more offensive that it ever was, at least since you’ve known him. You tried to use your powers again, but the ringing caused you to immediately weaken, but this time it didn’t effect Bucky at all, or at least you couldn’t see it. You quickly gathered your strength, taking in a deep breath and lifting up your fists. It was clear there was only one way out of this, whether you liked it or not. 

You watched as his metal arm swung back and slammed forward towards you, crushing into the wall behind you as you ducked and ran around him. You didn’t have very much training for fighting with your hands since you had your powers as an advantage already, but that didn’t mean you were completely helpless. Clearly frustrated, the Winter Soldier quickly turned around and slowly walked towards you again, knowing he could take his time due to the fact that you had nowhere to go. It was kinda fucked up really. 

He then lunged forward, ready to tackle you into the wall, before your boot make contact with his jaw, only slowing him enough for you to drop under him and roll out. You’ve seen footage of him when he was like this years ago, and you knew how precise and deadly he was, there was no hesitation. Then why did it feel like he was holding back now? 

“Bucky! I know you’re in there somewhere! You need to fight it, I can get us out of here! I promise,” you said, pressing yourself into a corner of the small room. 

You knew you had to do it, you had to. But you promised him that you wouldn’t need to, that it wasn’t going to come to that, and you intended to keep that promise.

You stepped out of the corner as the assassin turned around, you knew this was incredibly stupid but you couldn’t just defend yourself forever. You had to at least try. Instead of focusing on your powers, you shut your eyes and focused on Bucky and what would happen if you let him complete his mission. What would happen to him if you let him kill you. The ringing that was so severe before weakened as you put it out of your mind, allowing you to focus on what you needed to do. 

Your eyes shot open and the first thing you saw was his metal fist flying towards you before a vibrant pulse shot from out of your gloves, sending him into the wall behind him and onto the floor. You didn’t know how long you would be able to fight back the ringing, so you quickly focused on his body as he tried to get up as you pushed him back onto the floor. 

“No! Increase the frequency!” one of the men from above shouted to the other.

As soon as he said that you heard the ringing increase, digging into your brain like drills, no matter how much you pushed back. Soon, you found yourself clenching your head on the ground, not able to handle the frequency for much longer, much less keep the Winter Soldier pinned. You watched as the assassin pulled himself off the floor, his face clearly showing his disinterest in you fighting back. You had to get up, you had to fight back, you had t-

You felt his metal hand clench your neck as he lifted you off the floor, your legs dangling, desperately trying to reach the ground. You felt your heartbeat increase, and you felt your throat begin to close as he tightened his grip. You looked at him in the eyes and saw nothing in return. Quickly he slammed your body down onto the concrete with such force you thought he broke your spine. As soon as your back made contact with the ground the wind escaped your chest as you tried to quickly breath it back in. 

“B-bucky…” 

“Stop saying that name,” the Winter Soldier responded, his face dead as he only saw you as a target, nothing more. 

As his hands wrapped around your throat you felt him slowly apply pressure, choking the life out of you. No matter how long it would take. You tried to focus on prying his hands off of you, but you slowly saw black creeping into your peripheral vision, if you didn’t use it now, you would die. You had to break your promise, you had to…

“S-SPUTNIK!” You shouted, using the last of your breath. 

As soon as the word escaped your lips, you watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body slump over onto the floor. You quickly gasped for air before coughing as you rubbed your neck. Looking over, you saw his face, unconscious, his lips loose and his eyelids heavy. You had no idea what would happen if he woke up, you could only hope that he would be Bucky again. You hoped that he would be back home, free.


	33. New Offer

“Well, well. He told you the code, I’m surprised you haven’t felt the need to use it until now,” the German began, “It would’ve been so helpful for you to control him.”

“LET US OUT, YOU BASTARDS!” You screamed, kneeling by Bucky’s unconscious body, resing your hand on his chest as you felt for movement.

“Oh, no no no. You didn’t accept our generous offer, and now that you stopped us from solving this quickly, we are left with only one option. Complete termination.” 

You felt your heart skip a beat as a large door opened from one of the walls, revealing four men with rifles as they stepped in, aimed towards you and Bucky. One gestured to the other one that stood behind you, and you felt the nozzle of the rifle press into the back of your head. 

“Get up, step back,” he said through the muffling of his helmet. 

With your hands up, you stood and stepped back as the other three kept their guns pointed at Bucky. One stepped closer and pressed the rifle right into Bucky’s skull. You watched as his finger moved towards the trigger. 

“WAIT! Wait!” You screamed.

“Nicht schießen (hold fire),” the german said, holding his hand up. 

“I-I will go with you...w-without a fight. But only if you spare him,” you said, almost feeling nauseous as the words left your lips. 

“Well, what a change of heart. Is this what people call love? Or weakness?” the other man said. 

“Are you going to accept or not!?” You shouted, keeping your hands visible.

There was a long silence, far too long to make you feel like you were going to get your way. 

“Buc- The Winter Soldier is one of your greatest investments and achievements, I don't think you would want to just kill him to make a point. Besides, I have a lot less limits on my powers, both physical and metaphysical,” you said, nervously watching the man that held his rifle towards Bucky. 

There was silence for a few moments, before you saw the men face you again as you peered at them from under your eyebrows. 

“We accept, but if you feel inclined to go back on our deal- Well, how about we give you an example,” just as the german man finished his sentence, one of the Hydra agents moved his gun to Bucky’s left leg and fired.

As the bullet entered his leg, you saw Bucky’s face didn’t even flinch, he was too out of it. But you still couldn’t tell if he really couldn’t feel it. You wanted to scream at them, but that would only give them more power over you. You were just relieved it wasn’t his skull. 

“Now that we’ve made that clear. Put these on,” the man said as one of the Hydra agents walked over with two devices in his hands. 

He first held out what you could describe as hand cages, large metal cuffs that covered your hands completely. In his other hand was a headband with wires and other technological pieces attached. He gestured for you to hold your hands out, and you resentfully followed his orders. You suck your arms out in front of you and he clamped the oversized handcuffs over your hands. Next he placed the headband over your messy hair and over your forehead and you immediately felt yourself weaken. It was emitting a faint buzzing sound as a red light to the side blinked, you could only assume this was their way to make sure you don’t try anything until they needed you to. 

“Now, he may leave when he wakes up. You, however, will help us, immensely,” the german man said before he stepped away from the window, out of sight. 

Then you felt a tap on your back, telling you to move forward, and so you did. The other three men followed in suit, but keeping their aim on Bucky’s unconscious body, just to be safe. You heard the faint noise of metal clanking on metal and gunshots, and you could only assume was Cap’s shield kicking ass. You could get out of this, you just had to yell to get their attention. You were about to scream out for them when your new mind trap quickly shot electricity through your brain, sending the whole room into blackness. 

As soon as you were zapped unconscious, one of the agents quickly caught you and through you over his back like a bag of flour. The other agents heard the sounds of the not-so-stealthy Avengers coming and quickly moved into the secret hallway, closing the door behind them just as they heard the main doors being pried open. They were too late.


	34. Operation Termination

(Steve’s P.O.V.)

“We got it! ‘Operation Termination,’ is set to go off in 4 minutes,” I heard Clint say through the earpiece. 

“Roger that, we’ll meet you-” I was interrupted by the sound of another line coming in. 

“Stev-Tony-Bucky-reactivated-inter Soldier-trap-west wing,” that was all I was able to make out from the call, there was so much static that I could barely tell that it was y/n’s voice. 

“You got that too, right Cap?” Tony asked through the earpiece, clearly confused. 

“Yeah, everyone to the west wing. We need to hurry,” I said, gesturing for Sam to follow. 

“You guys gotta make this quick! I can only delay it for so long and you have to be outta here by then!” Clint said, the sound of clicking lying under his words. 

“Got it,” Sam said, launching Redwing out of his backpack and controlling it, scanning for any surprises further down the hall.

“Two on the next left, three on the third right,” he said, as we approached another hallway. 

“I’ll take the three, you have fun with those two,” I ordered as he took out his pistols and aimed them down the next hallway as I ran past to take care of the three incoming. 

I threw my shield forward, angling it in such a way where it ricocheted down the third right, where I couldn’t see it but could definitely hear the sounds of it making contact with three heads. As I approached and peered around the corner, I was met by three unconscious bodies and my shield lying in the middle of the floor. 

“Well, now I know that works,” I said, quickly reaching for my sheild as Sam and I ran past the bodies and down the hallway. 

“Tony, what’s your position?” I asked through the earpiece. 

“I’m making my way down, but I’m the furthest away. Just make it to the west wing!” He said, the sound of his repulsors firing echoing through his speaker. 

We ran as fast as we could until we made it to the west wing, we heard voices coming from down the hall, but as we turned the corner we were met by half a dozen Hydra agents, who quickly opened fire as soon as we were spotted. We then ducked cover on the opposite sides of the hallway. I quickly used my shield for its intended purpose and blocked any bullets coming towards me, sending some back to their owners. That took down three. Sam then stayed behind cover but was able to take down one with his pistol and two with Redwing. Before we knew it, the coast was clear.

“We need to get in there,” Sam said as he stepped over the bodies. 

I quickly hit the control panel next to the door with my shield, but nothing happened. Guess it’s time to open it the old fashioned way. I placed my fingers in between the doors and began to pry them open, but they almost felt like they wouldn’t budge for a moment, until I pulled harder. When they finally opened the first thing we noticed was a body lying in the middle of the tall metalic room. It only took us another second to realize that it was Bucky and another to notice that y/n was missing. I quickly kneeled over Bucky’s body pressing my fingers on his neck, he couldn’t be dead. Just as I felt his slow heartbeat, my own returned back to me and I was able to take a breath. 

“His leg is bleeding,” Sam said, walking over to analyse what had happened. 

“They shot him in the leg. Probably to make sure he didn’t follow them,” he said after getting a closer look. 

“You think they took y/n? But why would they just leave their most valuable asset?” I asked, although I already knew the answer. 

“You find them?” Clint asked through the earpiece. 

“We found Buck, but he’s unconscious. And y/n’s still missing,” I said, beginning to pull Bucky off the floor. 

I knew that he was heavy, but now he just felt like dead weight, making him a whole lot more difficult to carry. I threw him over my shoulder in a position that made it not as painful, but not much better either. I used my other hand to tap my earpiece, maybe we would be able to reach her now that we were closer. 

“Y/n? Y/n, can you hear us?!” I shouted, hoping to hear a response. 

But all I got was static and silence. Just as I stood, Tony flew in his full suit down the hall and landed in front of Sam and I. 

“What happened?” He asked, revealing his face from under his helmet. 

“We think they took y/n,” Sam said, using Redwing to scan the room for anymore clues. 

Without another word, Tony lifted up his arm and typed something until a small screen appeared followed by a not-so-subtle sigh of disappointment. 

“They turned off her tracker that I put in the earpieces,” he said, his face clearly distraught. 

“Guys, we have a problem,” Clint said, followed by the sound of alarms blaring and a woman’s voice in Lithuanian. 

“Veiklos nutraukimas , pradedant 150 sekundžių (Operation termination, commencing in 150 seconds),” the voice said as red light filled the room. 

“We need to get out of here, now!” Tony said, closing his helmet as the eyes lit up blue.

“We can’t just leave without y/n!” I shouted, “That’s not what we do!” 

“Listen, either we all leave alive, with the chance that she stays alive. Or we all die here and now. Your choice Captain,” Tony said before flying down the hallway. 

“I hate to say it, but he’s right. If they took her, then they have a plan and need her alive. And if we ever plan to get her back, we all need to be alive,” Sam said, placing his hand on my shoulder. 

I didn’t want to agree, but I had no choice. I had to get everyone out, including Bucky who had no say in anything at the moment. Leaving me to decide for him. And I knew he was not going to be happy when he wakes up, not happy at all.


End file.
